


When Dragons Flew in the Days of Old

by Dimensional_Phaser



Series: Hidden Dragons [1]
Category: Dragons in Our Midst - Bryan Davis, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Dragon AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-04-18 02:55:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 77,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14203518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dimensional_Phaser/pseuds/Dimensional_Phaser
Summary: Hiccup was weird, not only was he a hiccup he also possessed the gift of dragons. No one knew who, or what, he really was. When he is chosen to Kill the Nightmare he ran away, knowing he wouldn't be able to kill the thing that he was, and found he wasn't as alone as he thought he was. But later he learns that if his past is to survive, he has to return to Berk...like it, or not.





	1. Prolog

**Author's Note:**

> Unfortunately I own neither HTTYD nor the Dragon in Our Midst series by Bryan Davis, drat. Oh well, so is life.

Valka ran through the village in search of Stoic, as the sun passing its peak in the sky. She found him just outside of the Great Hall talking to the elders and holding their baby Hiccup, the child laughed and smiled at the sight of his mother coming to him. Out of instinct she grabbed the child and held him close, protecting him from the outside world, before turning to Stoic, “Do you know that there are foreign ships docking at our shores?” Worry lacing her voice.  
The large man turned to her, “Yes I do. I asked them to come here after the last chieftain meeting.”  
Valka’s eyes went wide, “But their…”  
“Dragon Hunters. I know.” Stoic finished for her, “After the recent events we need to rid ourselves of the dragon menace.”  
“But, Stoic. Is this really necessary. The dragons have done no real harm.” Valka was now visibly shaking.  
The man placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Look Val, I know you want peace, but peace between dragons and humans isn’t possible. I want to protect you and Hiccup, and ridding ourselves of the dragons is the only way. I don’t know what I’d do with myself if either of you were killed by that menace.”  
Gobber walked up, “Stoic, this is the leader of the Dragon Hunters, Devin.”  
“It is a pleasure to meet you in person Chief Stoic.” Devin greeted in a very heavy English accent.  
Stoic was a bit taken back by the extreme formality of the man, “Likewise. I would like you to meet my…” He turned to where Valka had once been but to find her nowhere in sight, “Uh…later maybe.”  
Valka had ran when she saw Gobber coming up with that man. She ran and was determined to not let him find, or even know of Hiccup. Hiccup began to cry a little, “Hush Hiccup, do not cry, I am here. Mama will not let anything happen to you. He will never know of you.” She came to her house and went inside, gently rocking her baby to sleep. A few coo’s left his mouth that sounded strangely dragonic but she paid them no mind and placed him in his crib.  
But Hiccup did not want to sleep, as had already had for many hours, instead he wanted to play. Valka laughed at how innocent and curious his face was, like he knew something was upsetting his mother. She picked up a small stuffed toy dragon that she had made for Hiccup, it resembled a Monstrous Nightmare but looked more majestic and noble and a stronger body build to it also. Hiccup laughed and reached for the toy, hugging it close, “V-v.”  
Valka looked back in surprise, “What?”  
He smiled innocently and did it again, “Vav.”  
She smiled, “Valcor?” Hiccup squealed.  
“Val-car! Val-car!” He held the dragon close, “Teil!”  
She laughed again, “You like those stories?” Hiccup nodded vigorously and she shook her head smiling. Hiccup was but a few months old and he was already talking and understanding more that any child should have been able to at that stage in life…but given her past that should be expected. Though Stoic had yet to learn that his son could talk, Hiccup seamed to only do it around Valka and no one else. “Well, they aren’t just stories, they are our past. Who we once were, and who we will one day be again.”  
She fumbled with her Rublet red ring a bit, the ring her brother had given her, as she mulled over some thoughts. Hiccup yawned and pulled her out of her thoughts, she looked down at her ring then grabbed the toy dragon Hiccup had named Valcor. He whined a bit until she gave the dragon back with the ring around its next, snow white, “Keep this safe for me till that man is gone alright?”  
Hiccup nodded holding the dragon close so that it pressed against his cheek, the jewel turning ruby red again. Valka nodded as it changed color, it was the greatest symbol of her past she had and now it reflected Hiccup’s as well. She heard the front door open and heavy footfalls come in, she relaxed as she knew his footsteps would never be that loud, “Valka, are ya here?”  
“Yes Stoic, I’m in Hiccup’s room.” She shouted back.  
He came through the door to find her sitting next to Hiccup’s crib, the latter of which was asleep once again, “Why did you disappear like that? I know you dislike dragon killing but that’s no reason to treat our guest as such.”  
Valka scoffed, if he knew of his deeds, he would be killed on sight, “I do not want to see nor speak to him.”  
“Val, you’re my wife. It’s your duty to greet honored guest of this village.”  
“He is no guest of this home and I want him off of this island by sunrise tomorrow!” She snapped.  
Stoic knelt down to her level, “Valka, does Devin have something to do with your past? The reason why you were washed up on Berk?”  
“Don’t even speak his name near me. He has everything to do with it! I want him gone, off this island, and I want him nowhere near this home!”  
Stoic sighed, “I will talk to him, try and relieve hostilities. But I can’t send him away.”  
“No amount of talking will do. He deserves to die for what he has done!” Pure anger burned in her eyes.  
Stoic was taken back, usually he was the one killing while she was the calm and cool-headed one, not the other way around, “Very well, I’ll see you tonight after dinner.”  
She reached out and grabbed his arm, “Stoic, please say nothing about me and especially Hiccup to that man. I fear for our safety if you do.”  
He said nothing but nodded and stood, then left the house. He found Gobber, Devin and Palin, Devin’s squire per-say, at the armory.  
“Ah, Chief Stoic. How’s your wife?” Devin asked, a smile on his face.  
Stoic frowned, “She’s…ill. I’m afraid she will not be joining us for supper.”  
Devin nodded, his face going grim, before turning to Palin and speaking a few words in a language Stoic didn’t understand. Palin nodded in return and hurried away. The sun would be setting soon, “Shall we have our meal than?”  
“Of course, this way.” Stoic lead them to the Great Hall and they feasted, each talking about the dragons and how they would deal with them.  
They were laughing when a Viking ran in, “Dragon attack!”  
Stoic and the other Vikings in the hall were up in a second, Devin was up in half, and they were rushing out into the night. Thought night the sky was lit up with the fires from dragons, “Get the defenses up! Ready the catapults! Keep them away from the sheep!” Stoic shouted as he clobbered a Nadder.  
Devin branded a sword unlike any other, to the Vikings it looked weak and feeble but highly decorated. He charged a Nightmare attacking one of the houses…and cleaved its head clean off with one fell swoop of the sword, it was by no means weak or feeble in any way. He saw a Viking several yards away about to kill another Nightmare when a woman suddenly stopped him, “Stop! We don’t need to kill them!” The dragon recovered from its shock and flew away before it could be killed.  
Palin walked up beside him, “Sir, we found it.”  
“Where is it?” Devin asked.  
Palin pointed to the woman, “It’s her. She is the devil in human skin.”  
Devin let out a low laugh, “She’s mine.” He crept around the building, keeping to the shadows, until he was right behind the woman, “Die demon-which!”  
Valka turned to see Devin lowering his blade when another one cut into its path, stopping it with a resounding clang! “What do you think ya are doing?” Stoic hissed as he stood in front of Valka.  
“She is a devil. You claim you want the dragons dead, off the face of the Earth, yet you harbor the most dangerous of them all! She is a lying serpent in human skin, deceiving you all!” Devin yelled as he swung at Stoic, “Help me destroy their kind, to cleanse this world from their disease.”  
They were are a standstill and Stoic spoke to Valka without taking his eyes off of Devin, “Val, I trust you, if you say his words are false I will end him here and now.”  
“And what if she doesn’t deny it?” Devin asked.  
Stoic gripped his sword, “Then I will protect my wife till my dying breath.”  
“So you married that wretch?! She obviously hasn’t told you a thing.” Devin hissed.  
Valka opened her mouth to answer when she heard a boom and looked at her house, a dragon had broken the ceiling and was crawling into Hiccup’s room, “No!” She took off into a dead sprint for the house.  
“See! She acknowledges it by her vary actions!” Devin took off towards Valka when a sword came down, cutting through his right leg.  
“You the liar and deceiver Devin! Claiming innocent women are those monsters. Leave this island at once and never return!”  
Devin stood up, leaning heavily on his sword, “One day you will see that I speak the truth, that you were caught in her intricate web of deceit. Then you will know that what I spoke is the truth.” Palin ran over to help his fallen master and carried him away. Only then did Stoic remember Valka.  
Valka ran into her house and into Hiccup’s room. She flung the door open and found the dragon playing with Hiccup with only the gentleness of a father. She took a careful step forward and caught the dragon’s attention. He turned and accidentally nicked Hiccup, he began to cry and the dragon coed to calm him down…and it somehow worked. She neared the dragon, hope in her eyes, when an ax suddenly appeared, “You will not harm this Halfling vile human!” Valka heard the dragon shout, in its dragonic tongue.  
Stoic heard nothing but a menacing roar, “Valka run!”  
The dragon went to charge Stoic but Valka grabbed his wing, “No! Stop!” The dragon turned to look at her.  
“You are not a human, you do not belong here.” Then, without warning, the dragon leaped into the air…and took Valka along with him.  
“No! No! Stoic!” Valka shouted trying to get free. But after a few seconds she stopped, knowing she wouldn’t survive the drop.

Devin watched the whole scene from the deck of his ship, and smiled. She was as good as dead, “Ow.” He hissed in pain.  
Palin sent an apologetic look, “Sorry, but he got you good.”  
“Its fine, but the next kill I will need its blood to help the healing.”  
“Of course. I am sorry you didn’t get to kill this one yourself.”  
“As am I Palin, but at least it didn’t have any mongrels, unlike some of the others.”  
Palin snickered, “With the curses they are given the kid would be dead as soon as the father found out.”  
“Yes, it would be.” Both men smiled at the thought.


	2. Chapter 2

A young boy walked out of the chief’s house into the warmer air of August. Hiccup looked up at the sky, it had been five-and-a-half years since his mother was taken, and his father had yet to tell him anything about it. He meandered through the village, no goal had been set as he walked. He scratched his back between the shoulder blades, they had been itching for several weeks now, but paid it no mind. As he walked he had the feeling he was being watched, he looked around but saw no one. He turned a corner and found Snotlout and the twins harassing a sheep, he turned to leave but Snotlout saw him, “Hey look who dropped by.” Hiccup didn’t say anything but continued to walk away, “Hey, I’m talking to you.”  
“I know, and I’m ignoring you.” Hiccup shot over his shoulder.  
Snotlout got mad, “You don’t ignore me wimp.”  
“Don’t call me a wimp.”  
“Ok fine, useless then.”  
Hiccup turned around, a scowl present on his face, “I’m not useless!”  
“Are too, you can’t do anything.”  
“I’m only five! What do you expect me to do?!”  
Snotlout stormed up to him, “You can’t even swing a toy sword, you’re pathetic.”  
“Am not! I just don’t want to.”  
“You’re just like yer mum. I heard someone wanted to kill her just because she couldn’t kill a dragon but a dragon carried her away to eat her before they could.”  
“That’s not true! It’s not true!” Hiccup shouted on the verge of tears.  
“Yeah it is, the dragon’s only mistake is that he didn’t take you too.” Snotlout kicked Hiccup’s legs from under him and proceeded to pummel him, the twins helping.  
Hiccup tried to get away, but three against one was not in his favor, and something cracked in side of him when Snotlout punched him in the back. Hiccup’s eyes narrowed dangerously and the whites where no longer visible, the irises consuming it and the pupil growing, and he let out a roar, “Stop it!”  
It scared the twins and Snotlout enough that they back off giving Hiccup room, “W-what?” Snotlout stammered.  
Hiccup didn’t answer instead he got up and ran. He ran through the village, past his house, and into the woods. He ran deeper into the forest, all warning from his father gone, all he wanted was to be alone. His back hurt and so did his mind, if it was one or the other he could have handled it, but not both. He came upon a small clearing and crumped into a ball, holding his head to block out the outside world. He went to wipe away some of the tears when he saw the ring his mother had given him when he was just a babe. He had kept it on Valcor for years until he could wear it without fear of it falling off. He didn’t know why his mother was taken, but he knew what Snotlout had said just wasn’t true.  
He sat there for several minutes until he had the feeling he was being watched again, “How’s there?” He called out but got no reply, “I know you’re there.” He looked around but still saw no one, “Maybe I’m being paranoid.”  
He turned to leave when he heard a bush rustle. Slowly, carefully, he walked over to the bush and was about to push the branches aside when he saw something quickly moving away. He made chase and followed it until he reached a cove, he saw the thing leap down and he slowly made his way through the rock ‘till it opened up revealing a lush cove with a pond off to one side. He walked out and looked around, he didn’t know a place like this existed on Berk.  
He walked farther in, the place looked so surreal that he had a hard time believing that it truly existed and he wasn’t just dreaming it. Hiccup was about half-way to the pond when a scraping sound caught his ears, he turned around and froze. There, standing between him and the entrance, was a dragon blacker than night. His breaths quickened and he took a step back while the dragon took a cautious step forward, “S-stay b-b-back!” Hiccup squeaked.  
The dragon stopped and looked at him, “Halfling, why are you afraid?”  
Hiccup shrieked and looked around, “W-where are y-you?!”  
The dragon looked at him and cocked his head, “Halfling, it is I that spoke to you.”  
Hiccup took a step back, no, this was crazy dragons can’t talk. Least, not what humans can understand, yet he did have a faint memory of a dragon speaking to him, “N-no! You can’t talk. Why am I talking to a dragon anyway? I should have listened daddy and not have gone into the woods, now I’m going to be eaten like mommy.” Hiccup fought back tears as he thought of his lost mother. He crumpled next to the lake, head buried in his legs crying, the dragon not ten feet from him completely forgotten about.  
His body was shaking from the sobs when he felt a warm, comforting presence around him. At first he thought nothing of it and snuggled closer as a young child would do when scared, but he then realized there was no one there but him and the dragon. He sat up immediately and found himself encased in large black wings, startled he jumped up and fell in the lake he had been sitting next to. He climbed out and ran for the entrance, “Halfling wait!” The dragon roared.  
Hiccup didn’t listen and ran out of the cove and though the forest. He heard heavy footfalls behind him but they had troubles keeping pace because the closeness of the trees and ran to the village. Once safely inside the boundaries he look back at the forest and saw two golden, luminescent eyes looking back at him before fading back into the forest. Hiccup ran into his house and slammed the door, breathing heavily, “Hiccup, where have you been?” Stoic asked picking up his small child.  
“In…in the forest.” Hiccup gasped.  
“Yer all wet, go to yer room and change and well talk when dinner is made.” Hiccup nodded and hurried to his room to change. A minute later he came back down and they sat down for dinner, “So what were you doing in the woods?”  
“Running away from Snotlout.”  
Stoic chook his head, “Son, you cannot always run from things that are bigger than you, you need to learn to fight for yourself.” Hiccup only nodded, “How were the woods?”  
Hiccup went ridged, “Scary. There was a dragon, it was huge and black as night!”  
Stoic laughed, “Must have been a deer Hiccup.”  
“What? No! It was a dragon, dragon! Do you not hear me? It was a dragon!” Hiccup shouted.  
“Hiccup, if it had truly been a dragon you would be dead now. It was probably just a deer.” Stoic mused, what the imagination of a five-year-old can dream up.  
“But daddy it was huge, as big as you, and pitch black!”  
“Sounds like you dreamt up a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.”  
“You don’t believe me.” Hiccup pouted.  
“I’m sorry Hiccup, but a Night Fury? No, I don’t. As I said before, if it had truly been a dragon you would be dead. A dragon always goes for the kill. Finish eating and go to bed, it’s getting late.”  
“Ok,” Hiccup quickly finished eating, “Night daddy.”  
“Good night Hiccup.”

Hiccup woke up as the sun was rising and jumped out of bed. Quickly he got ready for the day and grabbed some bread before he rushed out of the house, he meandered through the village until he came to the forge. He walked inside and looked for Gobber, he had some questions only Gobber would answer, “Uncle Gobber?”  
“Over ‘ere Hiccup.” He heard his voice call.  
Hiccup walked over to where Gobber was bent over examining a broken sword, “Hi.”  
“Hello Hiccup, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be playing with Astrid or Fishlegs?”  
“Well…Fishlegs is out on a fishing trip with his dad and Astrid’s…training.” The Flightmare had disgraced her uncle last month and now she was trying to prove her family honor. She didn’t mean to push Hiccup out, one her days off of training they played, but it was just happening, “I have a question.”  
“Shoot.” Gobber sat down and offered Hiccup a knee.  
“What happened to mommy?” Hiccup asked pleadingly.  
Gobber looked taken back, “You know, she was eaten by a dragon.”  
“No, Snotlout said some one wanted to kill her before for not being able to kill a dragon.”  
Gobber’s breath hitched when Hiccup said that. He looked around to make sure no one was listening then continued, “Hiccup, don’t tell anyone what I am about to tell you, not even yer father, he doesn’t want you to know.” Hiccup nodded, “The day of the dragon attack that took yer mother some people called dragon Slayers, or dragon hunters as we call them, came to Berk on yer father’s asking. We suspected nothing at first, their leader, Devin, and yer father were making plans to get rid of the dragons on Berk. Then the dragon attack happened, yer mother couldn’t stand to watch dragons be killed and so tried to stop as much bloodshed as possible. Devin saw yer mother and…and claimed that she was a dragon. He tried attacking her but Stoic stepped in and banished him from Berk.”  
Hiccup had a faraway look, trying to comprehend all the information he had just heard, “So would dragons take another dragon to eat?”  
“They wouldn’t Hiccup. The man was lying. Go play now, I’ve got work to do.”  
Hiccup jumped up and ran out of the forge and walked through the village. He heard the twins screeching and walked in the opposite direction. Presently he was as the forest’s edge, he shook his head and walked away towards the village again. Minutes later he was back at the forest’s edge, Hiccup grumbled under his breath and walked in. He walked for several minutes and came upon a clearing, after looking around he sat down on a log and started playing with some blades of grass, “Well this was stupid, what was I looking for anyway? To get eaten?”  
He heard a deep rumble behind him yet it was also very quiet, cautiously he looked over his shoulder and saw the dragon from yesterday looking over his shoulder. Hiccup shrieked and jumped away from the log. The dragon looked at him curiously but remained sitting on the log. Hiccup took a second to breathe and gather his thoughts, and then he realized that this wasn’t the same dragon as yesterday. It was smaller, much smaller, it only came to his shoulders and it had acidic green eyes instead of golden yellow ones. “Who are you?” The dragon warbled.  
Hiccup started to hyperventilate, “I’m dreaming, it’s not real. This isn’t happening.”  
“What are you talking about dummy? Of course I’m real.” The dragon took a step closer.  
Hiccup held his hands over his head, “Don’t eat me! Please?”  
The dragon stop its advance, “Eat you? Gross, humans taste terrible. Why would I eat you?”  
Hiccup looked up, “Don’t dragons eat people?”  
“No! Who said that?” The dragon sat down next to Hiccup.  
“My daddy.” He then looked very startled.  
“What? What’s wrong?” The dragon sniffed at Hiccup.  
Hiccup shook his head, “I’m sitting next to and talking to a dragon. Do you know how weird this is?”  
The dragon looked up for a second, “Not really. I don’t know much about humans.”  
“That makes sense. Um…if you don’t mind me asking…what’s your name?”  
A low rumble, that almost sounded like a laugh, came from the dragon, “Sorry, I’m Toothless. You?”  
Hiccup looked at Toothless and saw no teeth, “Oh, well I guess…” Suddenly teeth unsheathed from the gums and Hiccup shrieked and fell backwards.  
Still laughing the dragon looked down at him, “You ok?”  
“Uh, yeah, just scared me. I’m Hiccup.”  
Toothless stopped laughing and went stock still, “Hiccup? As in Hiccup Haddock?” Hiccup only nodded, slightly scared of Toothless’ sudden change in attitude, “I found you! I finally found you!”  
“Uh, what? You’ve been looking for me?” Hiccup took a step back.  
“Well, my parents have, they haven’t really let me out of the nest, they’ve wanted to talk to you for years but you haven’t gone far enough from the village to let them. I kinda snuck out, but I found you! They’ll be sooo happy!” Toothless took off towards Hiccup and stuck his head between his legs and lifted up, Hiccup sliding down until he sat at the base of his neck.  
“W-what are you doing!?” Hiccup all but shouted.  
“Hang on! I’m not used to flying with a human so it might be a little bumpy.” Toothless roared back, running and gaining speed.  
“What!?” Toothless suddenly took to the air and Hiccup gabbed his neck for dear life. Toothless let out a dragon’s equivalent to a laugh, Hiccup would’ve smacked him if he hadn’t have been glued to Toothless from sheer fright.  
They flew for several minutes, Hiccup calming down and looking down at the island he had grown up on until they landed in a cave high up on the mountain, “Mom? Dad? Helloooo?”  
“Toothless is that you?” A dark blue dragon step into the light, “Toothless! Where have you been?! Your father and I have been worried sick!”  
Toothless hung his head, “I’m sorry, I just wanted to see what else was out there,” Toothless suddenly perked up, “But I found someone!”  
“Toothless!” The female dragon scolded.  
“Who is it Toothless?” A strangely familiar voice asked as a large black dragon stepped out of the dark and into the light.  
Hiccup shrieked and fell off of Toothless’ back then hid under his wing, “Hiccup, you ok?”  
“Hiccup?!” Both of the bigger dragons asked.  
“Yeah, I found him in the woods. Is something wrong?” Toothless cocked his head to one side.  
“How did you get him here?” The larger of the two asked.  
“We flew, well, I flew and he sat on my back. Why?”  
The blue dragon sniffed under Toothless’ wing, nose poking Hiccup’s arm, “No, stay away!” Hiccup squeaked as he crawled under Toothless further.  
Both dragons looked at Hiccup huddling under Toothless as Toothless looked upside down at Hiccup, “What’s wrong?”  
Hiccup shook a bit, “That dragon wants to eat me!”  
They looked at the black dragon whose ear flaps flattened, “No youngling I do not want to eat you.”  
“Then why were you chasing me yesterday?” Hiccup accused.  
“Obsidian! You dolt, don’t chase younglings it only scares them.” The blue dragon hit the black dragon, Obsidian apparently, with her tail.  
Obsidian looked down shamefully, “Sorry Blair, I just got so excited when I saw him that when he ran I followed. I didn’t mean to scare you.”  
Hiccup stopped shaking but still didn’t leave the protection of Toothless, “Its ok, but why have you been looking for me?”  
Blair answered, “We haven’t been looking for you, we already knew where you where, we’ve been waiting to speak with you. But now that Toothless brought you here we can talk.”  
“Talk about what?” Hiccup half-way crawled out.  
Obsidian answered, “Why we’re here.”  
“Oh.” Hiccup began scratching his back again, would the itch never leave!  
“What are you doing Hiccup?” Toothless inquired, stepping back and sniffing his back.  
Hiccup seemed to have relaxed around the dragons as he didn’t crawl back under Toothless, “My back’s been itching for weeks and it won’t stop! It’s driving me crazy!”  
Blair stepped forward, “Hiccup, will you take off your shirt so we may have a look?”  
Hiccup looked at her unsure, “Why?”  
“Among dragon kind we are known as healers, I may be able to help with your itching.”  
“Um…ok?” Hiccup tentatively took off his shirt but looked warily at the two larger dragons.  
Blair walked up and sniffed his back, “What in the White King’s nest?”  
“What’s wrong?” Hiccup asked trying to look over his shoulder to see what was wrong.  
Toothless looked at his back with a look of disbelief, “You…you have scales. Reddish brown scales between you’re shoulder blades.”  
“I what?!” Hiccup shouted, jumping up to look at his back but not succeeding.  
“Hiccup, calm down!” Blair snorted.  
“Calm down? Calm down! I have scales on my back! And you’re telling me to calm down?!” Blair walked over to where Hiccup had sat down for the moment then laid down, holding Hiccup between her paws, “What are you doing?”  
“It’s alright young one.” Blair began licking his back.  
Presently his back stopped itching, “What did you do?”  
“Night Fury saliva can heal quite a bit and also works as a salve for irritations, hold still.”  
Hiccup continued to squirm until Blair let him go, “Thanks, I think.” Hiccup mumbled the last part. He stood there looking at the ground until he felt heavy breathing on his back. Hiccup whirled around only to come face to snout with Obsidian, he let out a surprised yelp and took a few quick steps back, “You said you wanted to talk to me about why you’re here?” Hiccup asked after he regained his composure.  
“Yes, we were sent to protect you, to watch over you until you came of age.”  
 


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup whooped as he touched the cloud, he loved flying, just as much as Toothless, and one day he hoped to fly next to him as well. A soft snowflake hit his cheek and the wind began picking up, “Hiccup, we need to head back, your father will begin to worry.” Toothless warbled.  
“Oh, ok.” Hiccup sighed. They quickly turned and flew back to the outskirts of the village, Hiccup getting off. He hugged his friend goodbye and ran to his home, once inside his father greeted him.  
“Hiccup, where have you been?”  
“In the woods.” Hiccup looked at the floor knowing he was in trouble.  
Stoic sighed, “Hiccup, you know I don’t want ya wandering through the woods in the winter, especially when it’s snowing.”  
“Sorry daddy.”  
“Look, yer going to be chief one day so ya need to grow up.”  
“But…”  
Stoic cut him off, “I’ve been lenient on you thus far but you need to know what yer going to do, all the other children do. So I’ve decided to make you Gobber’s apprentice.”  
Hiccup went wide eyed in shock, “But daddy, I thought…”  
“You will Hiccup, but ya need some muscle to you. You can work there and train to be the next chief.” Hiccup was about to object again but Stoic continued, “You need to get yer head out of the clouds and face reality Hiccup, you start tomorrow.”  
Hiccup walked up to his room and flopped on the bed, “Happy birthday to me.” He mumbled through the sheets. He sighed heavily, February 29 only came once every four years…and his dad forgot. Technically they just said February 28 but really? He swore Loki held a grudge against him for some unknown reason. Rolling over he went to sleep.

A year had passed, now seven, since Hiccup had become Gobber’s apprentice and he had learned fast. He was finishing up with Astrid’s axe, “Here you go Astrid.”  
Astrid took it but didn’t smile like she usually did, “Hiccup, I need to talk.”  
“What about?” Hiccup asked.  
“My parents, my dad mainly, don’t want me to be distracted from my training to be a Valkyrie.” Hiccup looked confused, “He doesn’t want me to see you anymore, at least, and I quote, ‘Until that Haddock boy becomes a real Viking.’ I’m sorry Hiccup, but I can’t disobey him.”  
Hiccup nodded, “I-I understand. Becoming a Valkyrie means everything to you and your family.”  
Astrid smiled, “Thanks, for understanding. And, I’m sorry, really.” She walked away  
Hiccup looked down. He tried! He really did! He tried to be more Viking like, he tried to toughen up, he tried not to be useless. But unless it came to a book or some other mental process he really was pretty useless. No, don’t think like that! You’re not useless, I can lift an axe and I can swing a hammer, I just don’t want to, I don’t want to do things that’ll hurt someone else. But that’s what a tough Viking does…Hiccup tore off the leather vest and ran out of the forge and into the woods. He ran to the clearing where he would usually meet up with Toothless, and he was there without fail. Hiccup ran to him and snuggled in, seeking protection and warmth that his friend provided. They stayed like that for several minutes before leaving for a flight.  
The next day Hiccup was heading to the forge when Snotlout showed up, “Look who it is.”  
“Not interested Snotlout.” Hiccup growled, meaning to pass by him when he got in the way. Hiccup tried to go around but Snotlout wasn’t having it and shoved Hiccup back, “Stop it.”  
“Or what, you’re going to cry?” Snotlout copied a babies crying. Hiccup’s eyes hardened and looked at Snotlout then wandered a bit farther away, reaching a retreating Fishlegs. Hiccup wondered what had been going on with him. For the past few months he had been avoiding him, all but deserting him when Snotlout was to be seen. Snotlout followed Hiccup’s eyesight, “Wondering where your friend is going? Well, we gave him a small taste of what it’s like to be a Hiccup.”  
Anger bubbled up inside of Hiccup, his eyes taking on their dragon form, “You leave him alone! He hasn’t done anything!” Hiccup shouted.  
Snotlout shoved him hard and Hiccup landed on his back and winced in pain, “Ha! Can’t even take a little shove without getting hurt.” Snotlout turned and left, twins following.  
Hiccup ran to the forge and into the small back room Gobber had given him to call his own. He quickly removed his shirt and saw two, three feet long wings, as pitch black as night. He stretched and flapped them a few times, the fall not harming them much, before folding them back down to rest at his back. He had wondered why they were black, when the scales originally had been reddish/brown but he never thought about it too hard. Figuring it had something to do with all the times Obsidian, Blair, or Toothless had licked them to calm the itching. He heard someone enter the forge and a bucket fall so quickly put his shirt back on and wrapping his wings around his midsection to hide them more, no telling what his father would do if he were to ever find out. “Hiccup, are ya in ‘ere lad.”  
Hiccup let out a sigh of relief, it was just Gobber, “Yeah, I’m coming out.”  
“Let’s work on yer leather workin’ skills some more.” Hiccup nodded and they got to work. By the end of the second day they had made a saddle fit for a dragon, which was what it was actually for. Hiccup ran out to meet Toothless, “Look at the saddle I made! Now I can ride for longer, as long as it doesn’t hurt you.”  
Toothless beamed, “Well, hurry up and get it on!”  
Hiccup hurriedly saddled Toothless and they were off, though Hiccup had one heck of a time holding on, “That’s going to be a problem.” Hiccup mused.  
Obsidian walked out, “And so is that.” He nuzzled Hiccup’s shirt.  
“What’s wrong with it?” He tried to look back and see what was wrong but couldn’t.  
Blair answered, “Your wings are getting too big to hide like that. We need to find another way, and soon.”  
Hiccup nodded, “I think might have a way.”  
Hiccup spent the next month wearing a belt around his wings to keep them still and close enough to his body to not raise suspicions. While it was uncomfortable it was needed. Currently he was in the forge and working with some leather to make a replacement for the belt and keep him on the saddle, when Gobber walked in, “‘Ello Hiccup, whatcha workin’ on?”  
“Just a project.” He replied simply.  
Gobber looked at the nearly completed pieces lying around and shook his head, “Ya learn fast Hiccup, I’ll give ya that.”  
Hiccup smiled, “I’ll take what I can get.” Gobber laughed and began sharpening a sword. The next day, half-way through the night, it was finished. Hiccup ran, quietly speed walked, up to his room and removed his belt from around his wings. Setting it down gently he slipped on the leather vest on then pulled the belts around to firmly secure the wings. It worked! It didn’t look like he had wings, and it was far more comfortable than that belt. He checked the small hooks at the bottom of the vest to make sure they could hold him on Toothless before leaving to find his friend.

Hiccup dive bombed off of Toothless and both feel for a while before Toothless got under him and they started up into the air again. He shed himself of the vest and let the air glide over the wings, the feeling was extraordinary. This was where they truly belonged, in the air and not cramped into a vest. Hiccup squealed and laughed, enjoying the feeling of freedom, they circled around again before catching up with Obsidian, “Think we can beat dad back?” Hiccup asked Toothless over the rush of the wind.  
Toothless flashed a gummy smile, “We can try. Beat you back dad!” Toothless shouted as they passed him.  
“Oh no you won’t.” Obsidian roared beating his wings harder to catch up with the two youngsters.  
They flew into the cave, it finally being a tie, and Blair came out laughing, “Toothless is finally catching up with you Obsidian.”  
“It was just plain luck.” Obsidian grumbled playfully.  
“Sure dad, you believe that if it makes you feel better.” Toothless chuckled before being attacked and he and Obsidian having a playful tussle. Blair and Hiccup watched from the side, “Hiccup, help!” Toothless shrieked.  
Hiccup shook his head, “You got yourself into this mess, you get yourself out.”  
“It was your idea to race him!” Toothless shouted at his adopted brother.  
Obsidian stopped his attack on Toothless and turned to Hiccup, “So you’re the trouble maker.”  
Hiccup instantly stopped laughing, “Oh Odin I’m dead. Hide me!” Hiccup ran under Blair.  
She just stood there laughing and Obsidian wore a pout because she was shielding him, “Oh stop pouting Obsidian, it doesn’t work for you.”  
Hiccup hurried home after that, the sun was heading down and his father wanted him back by sun down. He reached the house just before the sun left the world for darkness and stars, and ran inside to find his father wasn’t there. He shrugged and went over to the pantry to cook himself a fish. As the fish was cooking he heard the alarm, a dragon attack. Hiccup ran out of his house, making his way towards the forge where Gobber would be expecting him. He hated making weapons to kill the dragons, but they were also stealing their entire winter supply of food. He had come up with different ways to stop the dragons without killing them, but either the twins and Snotlout ruined them or the villagers were too unwilling to change. That still didn’t stop him though.  
Hiccup began running past the outskirts of the outer homes when he tripped and came face to face with a Monstrous Nightmare. It lit itself up and began to charge him when it suddenly stopped, “A Halfling. What are you doing here?!”  
Hiccup tried to stand but was shaking too hard, already taking in heavy breaths, “I-I…”  
“It is of no consequence, if you have aligned yourself with the humans then you are a traitor!” It charge and Hiccup held up his hands in front of his face, then it suddenly stopped, eyes wide with fear, “Night Fury, what are you doing here!”  
Hiccup looked up to see Obsidian curling around him, “He is no traitor vile monster.”  
“You dare call me the vile monster!?” It shrieked at Obsidian.  
“I do dare, anyone who would attack a helpless youngling is the worst of monsters, human or dragon!”  
It snorted before flying off, “You are lucky to have a Night Fury protector Halfling.”  
“Are you alright Hiccup?” Hiccup nodded, hugging him gratefully.  
“I should go before Gobber gets worried, thank you.” Obsidian nodded and flew off, disappearing into the night sky as he watched over the young boy that had a knack for trouble.

A hand finished working on some leather and Hiccup looked at it. A few years had passed and he was now ten. He took the newly made vest to his house, laying it out he checked to make sure no one was home before freeing himself of the old vest and putting on the new one. It had two layers, one he could put his wings through and one he could wrap around them to keep others from seeing. He still wondered how he had pulled it off, ten years of no one knowing who, or more specifically what, he truly was but he had. A smile broke his lips, Blair said his wings had grown large enough that he could now fly on his own.  
Hiccup ran out of his house and into the woods, finding Toothless in the usual clearing, but Obsidian and Blair were there also. Hiccup ran over to them and hugged them, they returning the hug. Hiccup unfolded the top layer and buckled it down so it wouldn’t get in the way, “I’m ready.” Hiccup stated firmly.  
“Ok, first off since your half human well tech you differently. We’ll begin with takeoff.” Blair began instructing when a mass suddenly shot past her.  
She looked to see Hiccup already in the air. She hadn’t known he had been practicing with Toothless away from their attention a week before. Hiccup shrieked in pure delight as he glided over the glade, Toothless gliding next to him also beaming. The parents sat on the ground as they watched two large black wings soar overhead. They looked at each other before also leaping into the air to join them.  
Hiccup spent many of his days like this, after his work at the forge was done he would leave and fly for the rest of the day with Toothless. And if he wasn’t flying he was making a very un-Viking-like weapon that he had seen in the book Gothi gave him. He had many laying in a storage room at his house, his father very rarely, if ever entering said room. Hiccup was currently cleaning the newest dagger he had made, it being very light and small but very precise and sharp. Stoic walked in and let a ghost of a smile slip through, his son may not be a fighter, but he had at least made himself a nice dagger for defense. Walking in Stoic spoke up, “Hiccup, you and I are going on a hunting trip tomorrow. So get packed.”  
Hiccup went wide eyed, his dad never did anything with him anymore, why now? And to be truthful, he really didn’t want to go, he would rather stay and be with Toothless and his family, “But dad…”  
“No buts Hiccup, ya need to learn how to hunt. And to be frank you really to get some muscle to ya. Maybe this will do the trick.”  
Hiccup huffed. He had been working in the forge for four-and a- half almost five years now…if his muscles where going to bulge they would have by now. And besides, he was strong, even if it wasn’t readily seen, “But dad I don’t need to…”  
“Hiccup,” His eyes hardened and Hiccup looked at the floor, “This isn’t open for debate, we leave tomorrow at dawn.”  
Hiccup trudged upstairs and began packing for the trip. He threw the dagger across the room in anger, it sinking into a small grove in the wall where many daggers had been thrown before. Thoughts ran through his head as he packed, why did he have to be strong, probably stronger than even Snotlout but not have the bulging muscles to prove it?! He had often heard his father complaining to Gobber about why the gods cursed him to have a weakling of a son. Gobber had tried to combat that with saying he was really smart, smarter than any other Viking he knew, but smarts don’t get you far in Viking culture. Hiccup wiped a tear from his eye as he thought about it, he had tried to impress his dad with what he had, but it never seemed good enough. Hiccup got up and withdrew his new dagger out of the wall and placed it into the sheath. He crawled into bed and fell asleep.  
Dawn came soon enough and Hiccup reluctantly trudged out of bed, Stoic meeting him by the door, “Ready to go son?” He asked cheerfully.  
“Ready is a strong word.” Hiccup answered.  
Stoic laughed, “Well let’s get a move on to get to the spot. I’m taking ya to our family’s oldest hunting grounds are, the best deer and boars are there.”  
The walked through the woods for several hours before finally reaching the spot at noon, “We finally make it?”  
“Yes Hiccup, were here.” Stoic put down his bag and set up the tent, Hiccup walking around and collecting wood. He heard a bush rustle over to the left. He gently set down the sticks are walked over, very cautiously. His eyes narrowed, irises widened blocking out the white, and pupils grew, in general giving him a dragon eyes. With his eyesight increased he walked over to the bush and pushed it away, revealing a small rabbit.  
He laughed, “Ha-ha, I was scared of a rabbit.” He picked up the small creature and walked back over to the tent his father had set up, “Hey dad, look!”  
Stoic looked over his shoulder, “Good job, you’ve already caught yourself dinner.”  
Hiccup’s face fell, “Hm, not this rabbit.”  
“What’s wrong with that rabbit?”  
“I don’t know, I just like it.” Hiccup snuggled it and petted its head while it made a soft purring type of noise.  
Stoic sighed, of course his son wouldn’t want to harm the rabbit, “Did ya get the firewood?”  
“Oh, I left it over there,” He pointed to a spot in the woods, “I’ll go get it!” He ran off into the woods to grab the wood, setting the rabbit down gently, “You might want to get out of here before my dad gets to you.” He whispered and it scampered off. He smiled and picked up the wood, nearly dropping it again by what he saw next to it…a foot print, a large human footprint. He looked at it a bit closer and saw it was fresh, literally made only minutes ago. Hiccup sucked in a breath and ran as fast as he could, which was deceivingly fast, from the spot, “Dad! Dad!”  
Stoic turned from the flint ‘n stone he was trying to ignite a few twigs with to see his son pale and sprinting towards him, “Hiccup, what’s wrong with ya?”  
“Is there anyone else that was supposed to be in this area, or was hunting at all?”  
“No, most went out fishing, which is why I chose hunting.” Thank Thor. Hiccup thought, he utterly hated sea bearing vessels. Having tasted the freedom of the air the sea just made him sick.  
Hiccup turned and pointed to the woods from which he had come, “I think there’s someone else here!”  
“Alright, take me to where they are.”  
He began leading his father, “Well, I didn’t see them per say but I saw a footprint, and it was fresh!” He found the spot, but the print was gone, “It was right here, I swear!”  
Stoic sighed, “It was probably just a shadow Hiccup, it’s alright. I was jumpy to on my first hunting trip.”  
Hiccup watched his father turn and leave, “But it wasn’t a shadow, it was here.” Hiccup looked around and began feeling something akin to malice and deep hatred, but it wasn’t his feelings it was something else’s. Hiccup jumped up and looked around, searching for the origins of the feelings that were bar-bombing his mind. Not so sure he wanted to find its source he turned and ran out of the woods, all too aware of the eyes that tracked him. Stoic grabbed a bow, “Where are you going dad?”  
“To catch us some dinner since you didn’t want to eat the rabbit.”  
“Oh, what do you want me to do?”  
“Get the grounds ready for the kill, I’ll show ya how to gut it when I get back, and tomorrow I’ll take you with me.” Hiccup nodded and watched his father leave.  
He began getting the fire ready when his acute hearing picked up the sound of a twig snapping, “Dad?” No answer, “Daddy, i-is that y-you?” Hiccup looked around, currently terrified as the malice and hatred feeling began to get closer. He took a deep breath to try and calm down, something most defiantly wasn’t right.  
Suddenly, before Hiccup even had a chance to react, something jumped out of the woods and ran towards him. Hiccup shrieked before a hand clamped over his mouth, he tried to pry it loose but another arm wrapped around his body. He continued to struggle when a voice barked hoarsely, “Stop squirmin’ runt.”  
“Alvin, are we going to wait until Stoic returns?”  
The man holding Hiccup answered, “No, we’ll take ‘is brat and get out. Once we’re ready we’ll send ‘im a message.”  
Hiccup could feel the hatred radiating off of Alvin in massive waves. He continued to squirm as he was pulled into the woods. They soon reached a beach with a small boat pulled up onto the sand and a ship harbored in the sea not too far away. Panic rose in Hiccup’s chest, he had heard his father briefly mention a man named Alvin and he had always told Hiccup to avoid him at all costs. Hiccup then had an idea and went completely limp. Alvin lost his hold on the boy and as fast as he had gone limp he got up and began to run, “Get ‘im!” Alvin roared.  
Hiccup had almost made it to the forest when a hand grabbed his arm, “He’s a fast one Alvin.”  
“No, let go!” Hiccup yelled trying to pry the fingers off of his arm, but the act only made the grip tighter.  
“Give me ‘im.” Alvin commanded. Savage handed Hiccup to Alvin and he glared at Hiccup, “No one gets away from me boy, now get in the boat.” He jerked Hiccup forward towards the boat when an earsplitting roar came from behind them. Alvin whipped around and came face to snout with a massive, black Night Fury, and it was ticked. Its teeth bared and a purple glow emanating from deep in its throat. Alvin nearly shrieked from fright and pulled Hiccup closer, backing away towards the boat. Another pair of wingbeats captured his attention before he saw a blueish/purple ball hurtle towards the small boat and watched it slinter from the force.  
Alvin turned to see a deep blue, almost black Night Fury standing to the side of him. He backed away and bumped into another Night Fury, this one mimicking the first only smaller. Alvin did this time shriek in fright as he was effectively pinned in a triangle of Night Fury’s. Savage found a tiny voice in which to speak to Alvin with, “S-s-sir? I think they want the b-boy.”  
Alvin turned to him, paler than a sheet and squeaked, “If ye’re wrong yer gonna die.” Quickly he shoved the by away and what happened next dumbfounded him. The boy, instead of running away and screaming in terror from them, ran straight to them and crawled underneath the closest one which happed to be the largest one! The dragon warbled something to the boy and he quietly answered it. The dragon nodded to the smaller dragon and Hiccup ran to it and it took off, with Hiccup on its back. Once the two were safely away the black dragon roared at Alvin and let loose a small plasma blast which threw him into the sea. Obsidian growled at the others before he too took to the air and flew in the direction that Hiccup and Toothless had.  
Alvin swam out of the water and waited for the crew to send another boat to pick them up in, his mind all the while reeling. Savage saw the smoke coming out of Alvin’s ears, “What are you thinking Alvin?”  
“Did ya see the way those dragons, those Night Fury’s, acted towards Stoic’s boy?”  
“Yeah, they probably just wanted to eat him.”  
Alvin shook his head, “No Savage, the boy ‘ad seen them before. He wasn’t scared in the least by their presence, ‘e knew them Savage. ‘E also knows what they said.”  
Savage looked confused now, “What? He’s a Viking and their dragons, we can’t understand what they say!”  
“We may not be able to, but ‘e can. They ‘eld a conversation Savage! The dragon spoke to ‘im and ‘e answered!”  
“But who could do that? Who could confront a Night Fury and live?”  
“We did.” Alvin deadpanned, “And I’m sure it ‘ad somethin’ to do with that boy, with that Dragon Conqueror.”  
“Oh Thor.” Savage grumbled.  
Toothless landed in the clearing where Hiccup and his father were staying, “I’ll see you in a few days.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Ok, you better go before my dad gets back.”  
Toothless flew away and Hiccup started the fire, his father returning half-an-hour later, “Ah, got a good fire there, and I got us dinner.” They cooked the birds and ate, “Anything interesting happen while I was away?”  
Hiccup stopped eating for a second before taking another bite, “Uh…nope, everything’s fine.” He finished up the fowl and stood, “I’m going to bed.”  
Stoic nodded and eyed his son, he was acting weird but didn’t think about it too much, if something was bugging him he would tell him. Stoic crawled into the tent and saw Hiccup already fast asleep. He watched his son’s chest gently rise and fall. Something didn’t seem right though, the vest, it looked too tight. He shook his head, his son had refused to take off the dumb vest since he was six and hadn’t let anyone, and he meant anyone, see him without his shirt at least since he was five. The father understood modest but well, he was his father for Oden’s sake! He had abruptly ended the bath help and any help that required him shirtless. Stoic laid down and went to sleep.  
The hunting trip took far too long for Hiccup’s taste, actually after the first night he was officially done and wanted to go home, and he desperately to stretch his wings. They were beginning to ache from being pinned up for three straight days. Often times Hiccup was scared to let his father pat him on the back while they were hunting and Stoic wanted to praise him for one thing or another, terrified that he would feel the wings, tendons and flexible bones. But he didn’t and Hiccup was all to relieved when they arrived him that day. His went out to pick up his chiefly duties and Hiccup ran into the woods to find Toothless. Toothless wasn’t in the clearing so Hiccup undid the top layer of the vest and flew to his cave. He found all three Night Fury’s peacefully sleeping. Hiccup yawned, not having gotten much sleep for the past few nights from being on high alert, and crawled into Toothless and fell asleep, folding his wings along his back.  
Toothless woke up feeling that something was different, he listened silently for a moment before realizing that there was another heartbeat next to his. He looked down and saw Hiccup sleeping, curled up into his side. Toothless smiled and licked Hiccup and hugging him close. Hiccup groaned, “Let lose you over grown lizard.”  
Toothless licked him once more before letting him up, “Nice to again, have a good trip?”  
Hiccup glared at his friend, “Do you realized how horrible this stuff smells?!” He flung a bit of it at Toothless who just laughed before rubbing it off.  
Obsidian and Blair walked over to the two younglings, “How was your hunting trip?”  
“Well, it wasn’t as horrible as the first night…” Hiccup shuddered remembering the incident.  
“About that,” Obsidian walked forward towards Hiccup, “We’ve all decided that you need to learn how to defend yourself, I have a feeling that he will come after you again.”  
Hiccup nodded, “I guess.”  
Toothless walked forward and nudged him, “It’ll be ok, I’ll help you.”  
Hiccup nodded and Obsidian continued, “You’ll also need to choose a weapon so we can teach you with that. I’ve seen Vikings fight enough to know how their used.”  
Hiccup smiled halfway, “I otta know a little, my dad would have my head if I didn’t.”  
“Good, we’ll meet you in the cove by Ravens Point tomorrow.”  
“Ok.” Hiccup nodded. The next day he arrived at the cove and they began training, he having chosen a Claymore sword and daggers to train with. Hiccup fell into a new schedule, he’d start off in the forge and get the work done there then go into the forest to train for combat or practice is flying. Hiccup couldn’t say he minded it, he relished in the fact of knowing that he truly wasn’t useless as the villagers saw him but he let them think that.  
 


	4. Chapter 4

It had been three months since the Alvin incident and Hiccup was becoming very accustomed to his weapons of choice. While far from great he could hold his own, and training with dragons had its ups. Hiccup walked out of the woods and into his house, his sword bouncing against his leg as he slowly closed the door, “Hiccup, I was looking for you.”  
Hiccup whirled around, hiding his Claymore behind him, “Uh, hey dad. What do you want?”  
“The chief of the Bezerkers will be coming tomorrow and he is bringing his son with him. I want you to show him Berk and be his chaperon.”  
Hiccup’s face fell, “W-why me? Can’t Snotlout or someone else do it? I mean, it is Dagur we are talking about? Do you know what he tried to do when I went with you to Bezerker Island? He used me as a target!”  
Stoic laughed, “Maybe that’s why yer so good at dodging things. Look, it’s just one day and then he’ll be gone, besides, if yer gonna be the future chief of Berk yer gonna have to get used to doing things like this.”  
Hiccup nodded and quickly walked up the stairs to his room. He pulled up a loose floor board and deposited the weapons in there, wanting to keep them hidden from Dagur at all cost. Afterwards he went to his desk and began drawing Toothless, playing with a butterfly. Hiccup swore he was an overgrown kitten at times. As the light began to fail Hiccup’s eyes began to drift closed, falling asleep on the note book. Hiccup jolted awake at the sound of shouting in the lower town before his father’s bellowing voice quietened everyone. He tried to think of what would have the villagers so worked up about, until he remembered the Bezerkers, “Oh gods dad’s going to kill me.”  
He shoved the notebook into a drawer and ran down to the docks. His father turned to look at him once he reached his side, “Yer late.”  
“Sorry, slept in.” Hiccup resituated his vest, it having twisted in his sleep and now cramping his wings. He kept fidgeting with it until he decided he needed to take it off and stretch his wings to uncramp them.  
He was about to leave to do so when Stoic gripped his shoulder, “Stay here son, their docking.”  
“But dad…” Hiccup stopped after seeing the look in his eyes, resigning to the fate of cramped, and very uncomfortable, wings.  
“Presenting, Oswald the Agreeable and his son Dagur!” One of the Bezerkers announced.  
“Hello Stoic, Hiccup.” Oswald greeted.  
“Oswald, Dagur.” Stoic waited for Hiccup to do the same but he was too busy trying to fix the vest that was about to send him through the roof because it was cramping his wings so bad, “Oh for the love of Thor, go fix it!”  
Hiccup didn’t even look up just nodded his thanks and sprinted off of the docks and back to his house. Oswald watched him leave, “A bit self-conscious isn’t he?”  
Stoic nodded, “He won’t let anyone see him without that vest of his. To be truthful I haven’t seen him without it since he was six. Let’s get up to the Great Hall and sign that treaty so we can do some talking.”  
Oswald agreed, “Hey dad,” Dagur asked, “What am I supposed to do?”  
Stoic answered him, “Go up to the house, Hiccup should be there. He’ll show you around.”  
Dagur nodded and ran up to the house, seeing a much happier Hiccup coming out. Dagur smiled and threw a dagger at Hiccup, who dodged it expertly, “Really? In my own village? What would happen if you killed me?!”  
“Ah, yer to good a dodger to get hit.” Dagur smiled holding out his hand expectantly for the dagger which Hiccup had grabbed out of the door.  
Hiccup sheathed the dagger, ‘Uh-hu, not until you leave. I’m not dumb.”  
“But you are stupid if yer gonna refuse me my dagger.” Dagur glared.  
Hiccup pulled the dagger out, “Actually Dagur, this is my dagger, see?” He pointed to the triple H on the blade, marking it his.  
“Where’s my dagger?” Dagur began looking around for it.  
“I’ll give it back when you leave, promise, but until then…”  
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that much.” Dagur playfully punched Hiccup in the arm.  
“Great, what am I going to do while our dads are laughing away?” Hiccup mumbled.  
“So, what have you been working on? I know you’re the blacksmith’s apprentice, so?”  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, “Let the fun begin.”  
It had been three hours already and Hiccup walked into the Great Hall with the beginnings of a headache, Dagur following along talking nonstop about killing dragons and other things that just made Hiccup sick. Walking, half running, over to his father he just about dropped his head on the table in frustration, “Ah, Hiccup, how’s Dagur?”  
“Ask him yourself.” Hiccup growled, voice a bit muffled from not lifting his head off the table.  
Oswald laughed, “He been giving you trouble?”  
“I have not!” Dagur yelled as Hiccup just glared at the table.  
Abruptly the doors to the Great Hall were swung open and a villager came running in, “Sir, Outcasts, a whole fleet full!”  
“What?” Stoic yelled,  
Oswald looked at Stoic, “Could it have something to do with the treaty?”  
“Unlikely, prepare the village for an attack! Hiccup, get yourself and Dagur to the house and stay there.”  
Dagur bolted up, “What?! Dad I can fight, I don’t need to be kept in a house like a child!”  
Oswald looked at his sixteen-year-old son for a second, “Yer right, ya can fight. I want you to go with Hiccup and protect him in case the Outcasts break the line and go after him.”  
Hiccup objected, “Dad, I can defend myself! I…”  
Stoic cut him off, “You both will go do as you were told, now!” Both children scurried off, “Come on Oswald, we have an attack to prepare for.  
Hiccup began running to the house, he had really hoped his father would let him go alone, then he could slip away and fly to Toothless’ cave and be safe with his family. But that wasn’t going to happen with Dagur around. They ran inside and Hiccup bolted the door, then running to the back of the house to bolt the back door. Hiccup withdrew Dagur’s dagger and gave it to him, “I thought you were going to make me wait until I left.”  
Hiccup glared, “You can take it now or you can go without it and see how well you do without it should the Outcasts get this far.”  
Dagur swiped the dagger, “Esh ok. Don’t get your beard in a knot, ok well you don’t have a beard but still…stopping now. What are you doing?”  
“Do you ever shut up?!” Hiccup yelled, when Dagur didn’t answer Hiccup just shook his head, “I’m sorry, it just, stressful when this kind of thing happens.”  
“It happens often?”  
“Not really it just, never mind. Do you have any other weapons on you besides a dagger?” Dagur shook his head, “Ok then, here’s a bunch of weapons you can chose from, though I want them back. Fair warning most of them aren’t very…”  
“Viking like?” Dagur asked looking at the weapons.  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah. Just hurry up.” He ran out of the storage closet and up to his room, grabbing his sword. Running back downstairs he found that Dagur held a Katana.  
“Nice, though really weird.”  
“Don’t worry, you won’t have it for long.” He looked around the room then grabbed some flour sacks, “Get me some rope!”  
Dagur grabbed some rope and handed it to him, “Why do you need that?”  
“Were just a couple of kids, and no offence, but we don’t stand any chance against a bunch of Outcasts. Though if we can blind them or temporally distract them we might stand a chance.” Hiccup broke the flour sack just enough so that if it moved it would begin dumping its contents. Hiccup rigged a few other surprised up around the house and by the time he finished he could hear shouting in the distance and metal clashing against metal.  
“You think our dads are going to be ok?” Dagur asked, looking at the door worriedly.  
“They’ll be fine, I hope.” Hiccup sat down at the table and began tracing the groves in the wood, Dagur balancing his dagger on its point and seeing if it would stay up. The sounds of the battle stayed a steady ways away, never getting closer and never getting farther. Suddenly the door moved and voices could be heard outside. Both Hiccup and Dagur drew their blades and backed away from the door.  
They turned abruptly when they heard the back door being pounded on, “Is there any other way out?” Dagur asked getting nervous.  
Hiccup nodded, “There’s a large window in my room you can jump from, but I’ve bolted that too, we’ll have to be quick.” They began to quietly make their way up the stairs as the bonding in the doors grew louder, “Don’t step on that step, it squeaks, really bad.”  
Dagur nodded, “Got it, hurry please.”  
They ran into Hiccup’s room only to find the window being pounded on too, “Well that’s a no go, back downstairs. I heard the guys at the front beating on a rhythm, if one of the doors is about to give we’ll open it when their charging.” Dagur nodded. They waited again, for quite a while too. The battle outside sounded like it was reaching its apex, when the window upstairs suddenly began giving a cracking noise.  
“That doesn’t sound good.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “It isn’t, ok their next run we’ll open the door and let them run in and we’ll run out and head for the forest.”  
“But they’ll be expecting us to go there!” Dagur objected.  
“Alright fine, you go where you want and I’ll run to the forest. Dagur, I’ve spent my entire life combing that place, I know it better than even my dad.”  
Dagur sighed, “Fine, ready?”  
Hiccup nodded, “When I give the mark you pull the bolt and I’ll open the door.” He heard the window splinter even more and heard the feet outside running up the steps, “Now!” Dagur pulled the bolt and Hiccup swung the door open, and three Outcasts came running inside, unable to stop from the sudden lack of a door, “Dagur now, come on!”  
The ran out only for Dagur to be grabbed by one of the men and Hiccup stopping abruptly from nearly running into more Outcasts, “Hiccup!” Dagur shrieked terrified.  
Hiccup ran back in and found Dagur trying to fend off three Outcasts with a sword he wasn’t by any means used to. Hiccup pulled out his own sword and charged the men. He cut clean through the arm of one of the men. He heard the window upstairs crash and more men pouring in. Hiccup dodged another attack, the man being half blind by the flour, and made a swipe at the man. He blocked it, barely, and pressed Hiccup back farther. He moved suddenly and let the man’s weight and momentum carry him into the wall, knocking him out. He saw the men come down the stair and Dagur slip up with the sword making himself vulnerable. Hiccup move to help him but a hand grabbed him and held him back as the other man hit Dagur over the head with the butt of the sword, Dagur crumpled to the floor in a heap, the only signs he was still alive was the slight rise and fall of his chest and the lack of blood.  
The men quickly disarmed Hiccup and began leading him out of the house. Hiccup went slack again, like he did with Alvin, and managed to escape. He ran into the woods, the Outcasts hot on his trail. He looked around for Obsidian, Blair, or Toothless, finding none of them. He tried to run faster, thinking if he could get far enough ahead of them he could just fly away. But he had no such luck, the men caught up to him in a matter of seconds. Rough hands grasped his arms and held him tight, not letting him pull his slaking trick again. Hiccup began shouting and screaming for help, hoping someone, anyone would hear him. He was cut short when a course rag was wrapped around his mouth and secured tightly behind his head. He continued to thrash as they bound him, hand and foot, before they carried him to Thor knows where. He strained to hear anything that could be his Night Fury family but all was quiet, far too quite. The noises of the battle had died away meaning someone had won, he prayed it was Berk. They eventually came to a sandy beach, and Hiccup wanted to scream. There lying in the sand was Toothless, completely bound and muzzled. He struggled even more to help his friend but was useless.  
An Outcast came over to the man holding Hiccup and asked, “Sir, what do you want done with the Night Fury?”  
“Leave it here, we don’t need it.” The other man nodded and walked away. Hiccup was dumped in the boat and they began rowing away, Hiccup could hear Toothless’ furious roars as he was left behind and Hiccup was taken. One thought, though, kept running through Hiccup’s mind, where was Obsidian and Blair? They docked beside the ship and where pulled aboard, then Hiccup was deposited in a corner and left. They set sail away from Berk and the sea grew a bit more rough, Hiccup began feeling a bit green. He groaned as he fell over, doing his best to hold his stomach while his hands were tied.  
The boat then softy collided with something else and Alvin boarded the ship, “Where is ‘e?”  
“Over there sir.” The Outcast pointed towards Hiccup’s corner.  
“Ah, well ‘iccup, I got ya. I told ya no one escapes from Alvin.” Hiccup just groaned as the ship was rocked by another wave, Alvin roaring in laughter, “Not much one for the sea are ya?”

Dagur woke up to someone shaking him, “Who-wha-Hiccup!” He shouted bolting up right, meeting Stoic’s eyes.  
“What about Hiccup.”  
“They have him, he tried to help me but…”  
“Rest son,” Stoic said gesturing to Oswald.  
Gobber called out to Stoic, “I found his sword.”  
“His sword?” Stoic asked.  
“Yeah, kid made a lot of ‘em, but he seemed to favor this one.” Stoic looked dumbfounded, he didn’t know his son truly knew how to use a sword. He had always been terrible with it while he was training with him. Stoic grabbed the sword and was shocked at how light it was,  
“Are you sure this is his?” He looked at the blood on its blade and looked at the two moaning Outcasts on the floor.  
“I’m sure, I’d know ‘is workmanship anywhere.”  
Stoic nodded, whipping the blade, “Scour the island, I want him found!”  
Toothless finally managed to get the ropes off of himself, and he was downright furious. His parents had just left that morning to fulfill a mission for the White King and he let himself get caught and Hiccup kidnapped. He was his brother and his protector, he wasn’t supposed to let these things happen! Scrapping off the muzzle he took to the air, flying as fast as his wings could carry him.

Hiccup sat in the ship wishing it would just end and they would be there already, he may be able to fly at ridiculous speeds and do crazy stunts, but this made his stomach turn without a problem. They had been sailing for hours, Hiccup lost track, when Alvin came over, “So ‘ow did ya do it ‘iccup? ‘Ow did ya train those Night Fury’s?”  
He pulled the gag off and Hiccup sucked in a breath of air through his mouth, “I’m not saying.”  
Alvin’s glare hardened, “I think ya will.” He pulled out a whip from his belt and moved to undo Hiccup’s vest.  
Hiccup moved away, kicking Alvin in the process, “No!”  
Alvin stood and replace the gag, gripping Hiccup’s face, “Ya will tell me, or there’s goin’ to be pain.” As he turned to leave a familiar whine caught his ears.  
An Outcast shouted, “Night Fury!”  
Another yelled, “Get down!”  
Before they could identify where the Night Fury was it came up from next to the ship and snagged Hiccup, barrel rolling and blasting the ship, before speeding away-the child safe in its grasp. They reach Berks within an hour Toothless set Hiccup down, clawing off the bindings, “I’m so sorry Hiccup, I tried to get to you but then they caught me off-guard as I was flying to your house when I heard the sounds of a battle and…”  
Hiccup place a hand on his snout and hugged him, “It’s ok, I’m fine now. Thanks, and it wasn’t all your fault. You got me out of there didn’t you?”  
Toothless nodded sadly, “But if I had paid more attention…”  
“It wouldn’t have mattered. Where’s mom and dad?”  
“The White King needed them, they thought I would be ok watching you by myself…”  
“Toothless, in my own experience, I can’t even watch over myself.” He rubbed Toothless’ sweet spot under his chin and he fell, his tongue flopping out, “I’ll see you next week.”  
“Wait, next week?!” Toothless asked wide eyed.  
“Yeah, I’m probably going to be on house arrest for the next month. But I’ll still come and see you, promise.”  
Toothless reluctantly allowed him to go back, though watching him from the shadows every step of the way. Hiccup ran into a search party in the woods and they practically drug him back to Berk. Hiccup sat in his house waiting for his father to get back. The mess had been cleaned up and currently four huge Vikings were watching Hiccup. After what felt like forever Stoic finally came back, “Hiccup, yer alright!”  
Stoic ran to give his son a hug, crushing him under it, “Can’t breathe,” And Wings crushing!  
Stoic let him go, “Were where ya?! I had men scouring the island.”  
“Well being kidnapped isn’t all it was cracked up to be.” Stoic just glared at him, he sighed, “I managed to escape near the Southside beach, I just ran through the forest until I ran into the search party.”  
Stoic nodded, accepting the explanation, though secretly ecstatic his son was alive and ok, “Here’s yer sword son.”  
Hiccup took it, “Thanks, but where’s Dagur? Is he ok? I didn’t get to…”  
Stoic held up his hand, “He’s fine, a little shaken up but fine. He and Oswald set sail after the Outcasts retreated.”  
Hiccup nodded then began to fidget, “Ok, can I go now? I mean, they’re gone so…”  
“No son. I don’t want you leaving this house without someone to protect ya.”  
“‘Cause that did a whole lot of good while I was inside the house.” Hiccup grumbled. Stoic sent a harsh glare his direction.  
“I mean it Hiccup, I don’t want ya getting kidnapped again.”  
“And you think I want to?! That was no picnic for me either but you can’t expect me to be kept locked inside a house or babysat whenever I leave! I’ll be eleven in a few months dad.”  
Stoic all but growled, “You will not leave this house without supervision, am I understood?”  
“This is feeling very one sided.” Hiccup mumbled.  
“Am I understood?” Hiccup didn’t answer, just looked away. Stoic took it as an understanding, “Good, I have to go and see to repairs, stay here, or so help me…”  
Hiccup turned and marched up to his room, slamming the door. He saw the window folded in, hinges a bit bent but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. He closed up the window and made it hold with some rope. He then undid his vest and let his wings stretch, being wrapped up in the vest then held even tighter with rope was downright painful. Sighing he laid down on his bed, “What did I do to deserve this?”  
Hiccup spent the next week under strict house arrest, only being allowed to leave with Gobber to the forge. In that time Hiccup had made another vest and a new sheath for his Claymore. Also reducing Gobber’s load to about zero because he was board out of his mind. After the first Hiccup had enough, waiting until his father got home and was sound asleep he snuck out the back window and flew to the Fury’s cave. Landing softly he called out, “Toothless?”  
The dragon came running over and nearly plowed him over, “You’re ok!”  
“Yeah I’m fine, just getting really annoyed with the house arrest.”  
The two elder dragons came out, “Toothless told us what happened, are you sure you’re ok?” Obsidian asked.  
Hiccup hugged them both, “Yup, it should blow over in a month or so, just have to wait it out until then.” Hiccup spent the rest of his nights in such a manner, secretly leaving to train and fly with them then leaving and sleeping half of the day while also working the forge, his father, or anyone, never noticing anything.  
 


	5. Chapter 5

“Raise your sword to block Hiccup, and watch the rear.” Obsidian tripped Hiccup with his tail, “When fighting dragons always, always watch for the tail.”  
“But I don’t want to fight dragons.” Hiccup sighed.  
Obsidian help the boy up, “You may not want to but you will have to. That Nightmare proves that, not all dragons will be accepting of you and sometimes that is the only option they leave.” Hiccup nodded, “Alright, let’s do it again, watch the rear this time.”  
Hiccup advanced and Obsidian blocked with his wing then swiped with his tail, Hiccup jumped over it. He tucked and rolled before bringing his sword out and placing it under Obsidian’s neck where a soft spot lied. Obsidian stopped, “Good job, you’re a fast learner.”  
Hiccup backed away, looking at the ground, “Why does my dad show that he loves me by locking me in the house?”  
Obsidian looked at him sympathetically, “Hiccup, I’m sure he shows that he loves you more than that.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “But he doesn’t! He never tells me good job or even said he loves me in years…this is the closest he’s shown any actual affection to me in forever. I try but because I don’t have bulging muscles and I’m a klutz he acts like I’m a disappointment, heck, Gobber’s more of a father to me…and you and Blair are more like a mother and father that I’ve never had. I have a dragon father who’s more of a father than my birth dad.”  
Obsidian wrapped around him, “He’s doing the best he can Hiccup, but he must lead his people and without his mate he’s doing something strictly designed for two people.”  
“Thanks Obsidian.” Hiccup looked up at the sky, it was becoming a little less dark, “I probably should be getting home now before my dad wakes up.” Obsidian flew back with Hiccup a ways and watched him glide into his room before closing the window.

Snow swirled around Hiccup as he flapped through the falling snow. It wasn’t bad, just the begging of winter, but it still soaked Hiccup by the time he made it to the cave, “Hiccup!” Toothless yipped running over.  
Blair snorted feeling his shirt and vest, “You’re soaked! Take them off this instant so they can dry.”  
Hiccup did as he was told while Blair wrapped around him to help keep him warm. Hiccup squirmed, “I’m fine, I almost never get cold. You should know this by now.”  
“You may say that but I don’t need you getting sick.”  
“When was the last time I got sick? Especially from being out in the cold?!”  
Obsidian walked over and laughed, “She’s a mother Hiccup, there’s no arguing with what she says. Though I must side with Hiccup, he’s gotten sick, I doubt a little snow would do it.”  
“Thank you.” Hiccup huffed trying to get out of Blair’s grasp, but she held him close.  
“I don’t care if you can light yourself on fire like a Flame Wing, you’re still going to stay here until you dry off.”  
“Why do you call Monstrous Nightmares Flame Wings?”  
“Well, dragons lived here for much longer than Vikings have so we came up with our own names for each other. We just never saw a reason why that should change when the Vikings did come.” Obsidian shrugged.  
Hiccup looked thoughtful, “Why do dragons raid my village? If they aren’t dragons from your nest then…”  
Blair looked at Hiccup, “Not all rulers are peace keepers like our alfa. The ruler of the nest near here is a tyrant, not even worthy of calling herself a dragon.”  
“Then why do dragons listen to her?”  
“She controls their minds, forcing them to do her will.”  
“Then why doesn’t she control you guys?”  
Obsidian resisted the urge to laugh, “Because we are protected by our alfa, she cannot gain control of our minds.”  
“Ohh…” Hiccup said nodding, “Why don’t you guys fight her? I mean, if she is a tyrant, why…”  
“Boundaries were established long ago Hiccup. The alfa’s, or queens, do not cross them unless the dragons under their care are directly threatened. As neither side’s dragons are being threatened by the other they are not allowed to cross.” Hiccup looked sad, “It was set up to try and prevent a war among dragons, even a skirmish between two regular dragons can be catastrophic. I don’t even want to think what would happen between an alfa and a queen.” The thought made both older dragons shudder.  
Toothless snuggled into Hiccup more, “You’re warm.”  
Blair snorted, “I don’t see how, he was practically caked in ice when he flew in. How long had you been flying in the snow?”  
“Maybe an hour, or four.” He shrunk away from the glares of the older dragons, “I don’t know, I just didn’t want to be around when my dad said he’s putting me in the Thor’s day competition, again.”  
“Isn’t that when Viking children fight for some kind of honor?”  
“I you mean a metal that says ‘I win’, then yeah. It really is just a bunch of strength competitions that are really annoying and boring.”  
“Is that why you never win?” Toothless asked, having watched Hiccup before, Snotlout had always won.  
“Yeah, sort of…I don’t know, I try but it always seems like they pit everything against me. Oh, well.” He shrugged.  
“But doesn’t your dad want you to win?”  
“Well, yeah, but believe me, it’s better for everyone if Snotlout wins, namely for his dad’s sake. The last time Astrid nearly beat him, I don’t want a repeat of it…it was bad.”  
“Well, just don’t freeze to death.”  
“Ha-ha, very funny Blair.” Hiccup laughed.

Hiccup soared through the sky next to Toothless, both of them thirteen years of age and both of them having grown stronger and faster. Hiccup soared over the sea then pulled up suddenly and drawing his sword. He and Toothless practicing air maneuvers again. As the sun reached its zenith the two decided to head back to the cave for a bit. Toothless landed with a soft thump while Hiccup made little to no noise at all. He folded his wings in a bit closer to his body and ran inside, “Mom, dad?!”  
Obsidian and Blair walked out and an unfamiliar dragon trailed them, it was a Sliquifier Hiccup recalled from Blair’s teachings on dragon species. Hiccup and Toothless looked at them all expectantly, the Sliquifier walked over to Hiccup, “He does look like her.”  
It took Hiccup a second to realize that he was talking about his mother, “You’re from the nest that my mom is at, aren’t you?”  
He nodded, “Yes I am. I’ll be taking my leave now Obsidian.”  
Obsidian nodded solemnly, “Yes, we have much to discuss.”  
Hiccup and Toothless looked at their father, wondering what was wrong, and the Sliquifier left, “Dad?”  
“Toothless, Hiccup, we must speak. Tidepool came to inform your mother and I that we are needed back at the White King’s nest.”  
Hiccup looked up, a smile threatening his lips, “So I can see my mom?!”  
Obsidian looked down at the floor so Blair spoke, “No Hiccup. Tidepool gave specific instructions that you and Toothless are to remain here…Hiccup, we won’t be coming back, at least not for many years.”  
Hiccup looked at them, fear and disbelief in his eyes, “No, you guys said you wouldn’t leave me alone.”  
“We won’t be leaving you alone, Toothless will remain here with you.”  
Hiccup took a few steps back, eyes glistening, “But, why? Why do they need you?”  
Obsidian spoke, “We are the only Night Fury’s in the nest, we are desperately needed Hiccup. There is a threat that has risen, and I’m afraid the king needs every dragon available.”  
Hiccup sniffled a bit and looked down, “Ok, I u-understand.”  
Blair nuzzled Hiccup, “I knew you would son.”  
“When do you leave?” Toothless asked.  
“Tomorrow morning.” Obsidian answered.  
“So soon?!” Hiccup cried.  
Blair noddle, curling around her sons, “I’m afraid so, we are desperately needed.” Hiccup nodded slowly as the dragons all curled around one another, forming one giant ball. They spent the rest of the night that way, Hiccup not caring if he made it to the house or not. This was where his home truly lied, here with the Night Fury family.  
Morning came too soon for any of them, “How will Toothless and I find our way to the nest when I come of age?”  
“Either we will come here and find you or someone will be sent for you.” Obsidian looked at Hiccup, “Don’t you dare try and follow us youngling, I will not have you following us into a war that is not your own.”  
“But if it’s a dragon war isn’t mine also?” Hiccup narrowed his eyes.  
“Yes, but not yet, and not here. I love you my sons.” Obsidian turned to Toothless, “Make sure he stays in practice, we don’t need a rusty Halfling when the time comes.”  
“I will father.” Toothless nuzzled him goodbye.  
They all took flight, taking one last lap around the island and Hiccup and Toothless following them as far as the northern sea-stacks. They turned and flew back, they had made a promise not to follow, and they would hold true to their word, “Sooo…” Hiccup dragged, never feeling this alone before.  
“You should probably head back, while your father may still be away hunting for the queen’s nest, you have to keep up at the forge.”  
“Right, ok. I’ll see you tonight.” Hiccup called as he flew away.

Two years had passed since Obsidian and Blair had left to protect their king’s nest and in that time Hiccup and Toothless hadn’t rested. Both trained, flying, fighting, thinking. Hiccup had gain more muscle but it was still unseen and his clumsiness around the village hadn’t changed. Toothless didn’t understand it. Hiccup wasn’t anywhere near as clumsy when he was away from the village but as soon as he got near, it was like a magic button had been pushed. Hiccup’s father was home so that meant Hiccup had to be home to. His father had grown even more distant from Hiccup after he and Toothless began training more and Stoic felt he could leave Hiccup alone longer to go hunting for the nest, like Hiccup’s age had stopped him from going before.  
An alarm blared, dragon attack, and Hiccup ran out of bed. Quickly wrapping his vest around his wings and unlocking his door to run down stairs. He opened the door and looked straight at a Monstrous Nightmare. His eyes widened and slammed the door just as flames engulfed it. He and said dragon were not particularly fond of each other, said Nightmare was the same one who had tried to kill him when he was seven. He waited a minute until he heard wingbeats leaving, and ran out the door. Hiccup ran through the village, dodging and weaving through the people, most people yelling at him to ‘get back inside.’ Yeah, like I’m going to go back into a burning building, you must think me dumb. He ran around the corner and his dad picked him up by back of his vest, thankfully not noticing the wings, he never notices them, “What is he doing out? What are you doing out? Get back inside!” Stoic yelled at Hiccup, shoving him towards the forge.  
“Ho-oh! How nice of you to join the party.” Gobber teased, “I thought you had been carried off.”  
“Who me? Nah, come on, I’m way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn’t know what to do with all…this.” Hiccup stuck a body builder pose as he cleaned the forge of Gobber’s discarded limbs.  
“Well, they need toothpicks don’t they?”  
“Ha-ha. Hilarious.” Hiccup threw open the service window and grabbed several damaged weapons, taking them over to the forge to be fixed. Hiccup brought out some prefixed weapons and deposited them on the ‘ceil, watching as the fire brigade came running through to put out the fires. They dumped water on a house fire, but it did little to zilch to quell the raging fire. Hiccup snickered, when he was younger he had wanted to do that…but in reality, being a blacksmith was way more fun than running around and putting out fires. There was a lot more you could do as a blacksmith then a water carrier, that’s all they were, glorified water carriers. Another blast hit behind Astrid as she turned around, the others following behind her. It looked really dramatic, and would have had anyone who had a crush on the girl go ballistic. Though Hiccup had lost that love shortly after Astrid and him weren’t allowed to see each other anymore. It didn’t really bother him anyway, she never truly did know him, never knew his secret.  
Gobber dragged him back, “Stop daydreaming and get workin’.”  
“I wasn’t daydreaming about anything, I was just thinking.”  
“Uh-hu, we all know how dangerous it is when Hiccup thinks. Ya were thinkin’ about Astrid weren’t ya?” He didn’t really make it a question.  
Hiccup laughed, “No, when would she even talk to me anyway? I was just thinking about how I have a much cooler job than they do.”  
“I’m not sure about ‘cooler,’ we probable could heat half the village right about now.” Gobber joked as Hiccup playfully glared. Hiccup heard a dragon scream in pain in the distance and cringed, “Ya know Hiccup, if ya ever want to get out there and fight dragons you need to stop all…this.” Gobber gestured to all of Hiccup.  
Hiccup pouted, “Me, fight dragons? What’s wrong with that? A-and you sir are playing a dangerous game, keeping this much…raw Viking-ness contained, there will be consequences!”  
“I’ll take my chances,” Gobber deadpanned, “Sword, sharpened, now.” Hiccup walked over to the grind stone and began thinking about Toothless, was he at the cave? Is he here? No, I haven’t heard him, and he isn’t needed. I hope he’s staying safe. Gobber switched his pinchers for an axe, turning to Hiccup he commanded before running into battle, “Stay, put, there. Ya know what I mean.”  
Hiccup sighed, “You act like you can’t trust me to stay here…ok I can’t trust myself to stay here, why should he? Whatever.” He continued to repair weapons until the attack ended, then still continued to repair them. Several hours later he was finally finished and ran out of the forge, and straight into his father, “Hey, dad.”  
“What were ya doing outside?” He didn’t even give him time to answer, “You know when there’s a dragon attack to stay inside so yer not carried off.”  
“Sorry dad, but…”  
“No excuses,” He saw Gobber walking over, “Make sure he gets home, I have more to clean up, dragons did a number this time.”  
Hiccup grumbled, “If you would just listen to me there wouldn’t so much of a mess.”  
He walked passed Snotlout, “Hey nice work out there. Oh, I’m sorry, you didn’t do anything!”  
Hiccup just glared as Gobber pushed him aside, but all of the other looking at him the same way, bar Fishlegs who just looked away ashamed…but at what or what for Hiccup didn’t know, nor was he sure he wanted to know. They reached the house, “Thanks Gobber, I think I can take it from here.”  
“Alright ladie, just don’t do anything dumb.”  
Hiccup scoffed, “Oh like what?”  
Gobber only gave him ‘the look’, “Ya know what, don’t be messing around with yer inventions. Yer father’s already upset.”  
“And that’s my fault how?” Hiccup asked closing the door, then running upstairs and grabbing one of said inventions and some tools before running out into the woods to meet Toothless.  
He was there waiting in the cove, “Hey, you showed up! I didn’t know if you would or not because of the raid.”  
“Of course I’d come! Besides, I want to test the shield more.”  
Toothless sniffed it, “What does it do? Besides acting as a shield of course.”  
Hiccup laughed, “It can act as a crossbow or a grappling hook.”  
“Sweet.” Toothless suddenly fired at Hiccup.  
Hiccup raised the shield and inspected the damage done, “Not too bad, would be nice if there was some stronger metal out there that wasn’t so stinkin’ heavy.”  
“Well you’re defiantly not slow.” Toothless commented.  
“I can’t be with you.”  
“Not while I’m a Night Fury.”  
“Glorified kitten.” Hiccup muttered as he tweaked the shield.  
“Hey! I’m not a cat!”  
“Try saying that when you’re not purring like one.” Hiccup jabbed as Toothless stopped purring.  
“Would you rather I growl at you?”  
Hiccup shrugged, “You wouldn’t hurt me.” Toothless just flopped down with a hmph before chasing his tail for a bit while Hiccup worked.  
By the time Hiccup had gotten home the sun had gone down. He sneaked in, grateful he had left his shield and tools in Toothless’ cave, and began making his way up the stairs when his foot accidentally slipped and fell on the board that squeaks, “Hiccup?” Stoic asked turning around to see his son on the stairs.  
“Hey, dad.”  
“Son, I need to talk to you.”  
Hiccup looked down and tried to back away a bit, these talks where usually never good…for him, “Oh, a-about what?”  
“I think it’s time you learn to fight dragons. You start tomorrow.”  
Hiccup just stared straight ahead for a moment, sorry dad, but you’re a few years too late on that one, “Uh, well, you know, we have surplus of dragon fighting Vikings…but do we have enough bread making Vikings or small home repair Vikings, or-or what about blacksmithing Vikings?”  
“You’ll need this,” Stoic gave him an axe cutting him off.  
Hiccup protested, “I don’t want to fight dragons.” I’m pretty sure I’ve said the same thing to Obsidian.  
“Ha-ha,” Stoic laughed, “Of course you do.”  
“Rephrase, dad, I can’t kill a dragon.” I can’t kill what I am…even Obsidian didn’t ask me to.  
Stoic turned around, “But you will kill dragons.”  
Hiccup went white at the thought, “No, I’m really, extra sure that I won’t.”  
“It time Hiccup,” Stoic said softly, walking back over to his son.  
“Do you not hear me?!”  
“This is serious son. When you carry this axe, you carry all of us.” Wouldn’t that be really heavy? “Which means you walk like us, you talk like us, you think like us.” Yeah…pass, “Which means, no more of…this.”  
“You just gestured to all of me.” Hiccup deadpanned while rolling his eyes.  
“Deal?”  
“This conversation is feeling very one sided…”  
“Deal?” Stoic pressed harder. Hiccup refused to answer, choosing instead to stare at the ground, “Train hard, I’ll be back…probably.”  
“And I’ll be here…maybe…” Hiccup sighed.  
 


	6. Chapter 6

Gobber opened the gate to the kill ring, “Welcome to dragon training.”  
“No turning back.” Astrid stated.  
The teens looked around, “I hope I get some serious burns.” Tuffnut said.  
“I’m hoping for some mauling, like my shoulder or low back.” Ruffnut objected.  
“Yeah, it’s only fun if you get a scar out of it.” Astrid teased.  
What is their fascination with pain?! Hiccup thought before spitting out sarcastically, “Yeah, pain, love it.”  
“Oh please, who let him in?” Tuffnut asked.  
Gobber jumped in before anything serious could happen, “Let’s get started, the recruit who does best will the honor of killing his first dragon in front of the entire village.”  
Hiccup paled while the others laughed, how is that an honor!? “Can I transfer to the class with the cool Vikings?” Tuffnut asked.  
Gobber walked up to him trying to reassure him, “Don’t worry, your small and weak, that will make you less of a target. They’ll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead.” How wrong you are, and seriously, your pep talks need more work. Hiccup thought dryly, “Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight. The Deadly Nadder.” As if on cue the dragon roared in rage.  
Fishlegs began spewing out dragon knowledge, “Speed eight, armor sixteen.”  
Gobber continued, “The Hideous Zippleback.”  
“Plus eleven stealth times two.” Fishlegs added.   
“Soo…plus twenty-two stealth?” Hiccup asked and Fishlegs smiled sheepishly.  
“The Monstrous Nightmare.”  
“Fire power fifteen.”  
“The Terrible Terror.” It almost sounded like they were trying to one-up each other.  
“Attack eight, venom twelve!”  
Gobber snapped, “Can ya stop that! And the Gronkle.”  
Fishlegs leaned over to Hiccup and whispered, “Jaw strength eight.” Hiccup snickered, he already knew that and so much more.  
Gobber put his hand on the leaver to release the dragon when Snotlout stepped forward concerned, “Whoa, whoa, wait, aren’t you going to teach us first?”  
Hiccup already knew Gobber’s answer as he released the dragon, “I believe in learning on the job.” The Gronkle burst out and the kids scattered, “Today is about survival. If ya get blasted, yer dead. Quick what’s the first thing yer goin’ to need?”  
An overprotective, overgrown lizard, Hiccup thought dryly but said, “A doctor.” They were all going to need a good one.  
“Plus five speed?” Fishlegs asked, very nervous.  
Astrid crouched, ready to dodge and move, “A shield.”  
“Shield go!”  
All the kids split up to grab a shield, Hiccup grabbing one quickly before hiding behind it and trying to keep the Gronkle’s view off of him. Odin knows what it would do if it realized what he was, it could range anywhere from trying to kill him to dang near bowing down quickly and flying off. Apparently most dragons thought pretty highly of his mother’s race of dragons. But either option was not preferred nor he really didn’t want to kill it, scratch that, he wouldn’t kill it, yet he didn’t want to use the tricks that the Night Fury’s had shown him. It would look to suspicious from the runt of the village, also if he did too well he would be chosen to kill the Nightmare and that would not go well. So he opted to just hide. The twins began fighting over a shield and the Gronkle fired at it and flung it out of their hand, “Ruffnut, Tuffnut, yer out. Those shield are good for another thing, noise. And make lots of it to throw off a dragons aim.” Hiccup cringed as they began making more noise than a busy forge, it was terrible but it didn’t affect him the way it did the Gronkle. It shook its head, trying to clear the noise, “All dragons have a limited number of shots, how many does a Gronkle have?”  
“Five?” Snotlout asked.  
“No six!” Fishlegs corrected.  
Gobber nodded nonchalantly, “Correct, six, that one for each of ya!” The Gronkle shot at Fishlegs and missed him by a hair, hitting his shield, “Fishlegs, out.” He ran off screaming, “Hiccup, get in there!”  
Hiccup peaked out from behind the weapons rack but ducked back in as a stray lava hit nearby, “Yeah, no.”  
Snotlout began hitting on Astrid but lost focus and was shot out, leaving only Hiccup and Astrid. Hiccup climbed out of his hiding place and stood across from Astrid, “Glad you finally came out.”  
“Yeah well I don’t appreciate being shot at.” The Gronkle fired at Hiccup. Years of training and hardened instincts brought the shield up before it could hit him, and managed to keep the grip on the shield, I guess when you’re used to plasma blasts a lava blast is nothing. Hiccup began running as the Gronkle gave chase, it pinning him.  
“Halfling!” It shrieked, a cross between wonder and anger, oh I’m dead. “You shall die for betraying your kind!”  
As it was about to fire Hiccup reached around and scratched its sweet spot and Gobber pulled it away, the shot missing by a mile, “That’s six, go back to bed ya overgrown sausage. Ye’ll get another chance, don’t ya worry.” Gobber turned to Hiccup, “Remember, a dragon will always, always, go for the kill.”  
Hiccup shook his head and left the arena as fast as possible before flying off to find Toothless, he found him in his cave, “Hiccup!” His face fell, “You smell faintly of another dragon, what happened?!”  
Hiccup sighed, “My dad put me in dragon training and I have no way to get out of it…and now the Gronkle there thinks I’ve betrayed dragons. I don’t blame her, seeing me there in the kill ring learning how to fight dragons sends a bad message.”  
“Did you actually fight her?” Toothless inquired.  
“No, how could I? I mean, I did scratch her sweet spot but that’s not fighting, that was just trying to keep her from killing me…”  
Toothless nuzzled him, “Then you’re not betraying us Hiccup, you can’t get out of something your father put you in. So long as you don’t kill any of them you’ll be fine.”  
“Thanks Toothless. My dad’s out hunting for the nest again so I can stay here for the night, want to go do some aerial maneuvers?”  
“Defiantly.” Toothless took to the air, Hiccup racing after him.

Hiccup arrived at the Great Hall just as Gobber was starting his lecture, “Alright, where did Astrid go wrong in the ring today?”  
“I mistimed my summersault dive, it was sloppy and threw off my reverse tumble.” Astrid said criticizing herself.  
“Yeah, we noticed.” Ruffnut said with utmost enthusiasm.  
Snotlout tried to praise her and instead received a hate filled glare, “No, no! That was so Astrid-y.”  
“She’s right, you have to be tough on yourselves. Where did Hiccup go wrong?” Gobber asked.  
I showed up, Hiccup thought right before Ruffnut said, “Uh, he showed up.”  
“He didn’t get eaten.” Tuffnut added. Neither did you Tuff. Hiccup thought dryly snagging a cup before walking to a different table because the teens kept closing the seats to sit.  
Astrid finally answered the question correctly, “He’s never where he should be.”  
“Thank you Astrid!” Gobber praised, “You need to live and breathe this stuff. The dragon manual.” He pulled out a book and dropped it on the table after clearing it.  
Hiccup didn’t even look at it as Gobber dropped it, he had read maybe a hundred times…yeah, he and Toothless had a thing. Actually most of it was them talking about how wrong the book was. At one point, when they were eight, they had decided to make a revise edition of the book, it currently took up fifteen of Hiccup’s journals, but they enjoyed it. Gobber’s talking brought him out of his thoughts again, “Everything we know about every dragon we know of.”  
Thunder clasped outside and Hiccup groaned, “That’ll be fun to get through.” He mumbled thinking about trying to fly through the storm to get to Toothless.  
“No attacks tonight, study up.” He sighed as he walked out.  
Tuffnut suddenly looked horrified, “Wait, you mean read?”  
“While were still alive?!” Ruffnut added.  
Hiccup groaned, when else are you supposed to read?! “Why read words when you can kill the stuff the words tell you about?” Snotlout asked in all his brilliance.  
Fishlegs looked excited while Hiccup felt sick and lost all his appetite, killing a dragon…that so wasn’t going to fly with him, “Oh-oh, I’ve read it like seven times! There’s this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face…”  
Snotlout turned to give Fishlegs a strange look mixed of fear and annoyance while Hiccup just thought, it’s called a Water Belly, or a Scaldrin if you’re a Viking.  
“…A-and there’s this other one that buries itself…” Fishlegs was cut off by Tuffnut.  
“Yeah, that sounds great, there was a chance I was going to read it-“  
“But now…?” Ruffnut finished shrugging.  
Snotlout stood and turned to walk away, “You guys read and I’ll go kill stuff.”  
The others followed soon after in a loud group of voices talking all at once. Hiccup stood and began to follow them out as Snotlout turned towards him, “Oh great, what do you want Snotlout?”  
“You think you’re just going to follow us useless?”  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, “What I was thinking is what I was thinking, not you, and no, I was leaving to go home and get dried off.”  
Snotlout shook his head, “Yeah, sure, you decided to leave before you ate two bits out of your meal and happen to follow us.”  
“Because that is currently the only functioning door to the Great Hall, the side door was destroyed in the last raid and Gobber hasn’t gotten around to fixing it.” Hiccup explained walking by Snotlout to leave.  
“Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that. I know you really just want to be apart of the actual Vikings, which, face it, you never will be.”  
Hiccup ignored Snotlout as he left, he had truly stopped caring about becoming a ‘true’ Viking when he learned that he was half dragon. Subconsciously his wings twitched in the vest with annoyance, thought the vest kept them still and unseen to the outside world, as he ran towards the woods to find Toothless…and get out of this infernal rain!  
The fight to the cave took much longer than normal, high winds going in the opposite direction being the main culprit. By the time he finally reached the cave he was plumb exhausted. Toothless came over, “Idiot, you should have stayed home in this storm!”  
Hiccup shrugged, “I wanted to be somewhere warm.”  
“So you bring your sopping wetness here? Thank you very much.” Toothless snorted while Hiccup took off his vest and tossed it on a nearby rock.  
“Good night useless reptile.” Hiccup jibed as Toothless culled around him and they fell asleep.

The training the next day was set up in a big maze with no definite start or end, survival I guess is the prize. Gobber shoved an axe in Hiccup’s hands then closed the gate as he unleashed the Nadder. Hiccup stood next to the rock wall under where Gobber stood, looking nervous, “Get in there! You’re not even trying.” Gobber shouted at Hiccup and caught the Nadder’s attention as it fired at Hiccup and stuck the axe head, leaving him just the handle, “Today is all about attack!”  
Hiccup dropped the axe handle and danced and weaved through the maze in an effort to lose the Nadder. But it wasn’t having any of that, having jumped on top of the wooden wall and following him. “Nadders are quick and light on their feet, your job is to be quicker and lighter.”  
Fishlegs yelled then shouted, “I’m really beginning to question your teaching methods.”  
Gobber ignored him, “Look for its blind spot, every dragon has one. Find it. Hide in it. And strike!”  
Ruffnut suddenly yelled, “How ‘bout I give you one! Ahh!”  
“Blind spot yes, deaf spot, not so much.” Gobber said bored.  
Hiccup ran behind Snotlout and Astrid as Astrid motioned for him to get down. He complied, preferring not to be one the other end of her axe. She and Snotlout quickly dove through the opening to the other side. Hiccup was about to follow when the Nadder suddenly spotted Snotlout. Snotlout, needing to ever be the Viking in shining armor-obviously he had never read Viking folklore, shoved Astrid out of the way, “Watch out babe, I’ll take care of this.” He chucked his axe at the Nadder only for it to have the handle hit the dragon instead of the axe itself. Astrid glared at Snotlout as he tried to come up with an excuse.  
Hiccup had run in the opposite direction, not wanting to aggravate the already spitting mad Nadder, “Youngling! Get over here so I can teach you a lesson in respect!” The Nadder shrieked as it chased after Snotlout.  
Hiccup heard the walls crashing and saw Astrid jumping off the top of one and practically land on him, “Look out!”  
“O’ love on the battlefield.” Tuffnut taunted.  
We are defiantly not in love. Hiccup thought as he tried to get his arm out of the shield’s straps so Astrid could have her axe back…but she wasn’t getting that memo, “L-let me, why don’t you, ow!”  
Astrid had rammed her elbow in his gut trying get the axe out of his shield. Hiccup had had enough and threw Astrid off before he quickly slid his arm out from the straps. Astrid grabbed the handle of the axe again and twisted his wrist a bit as she suddenly swung it forward and off of his arm, hitting the Nadder. He cringed, one from his wrist and two because that had to hurt, dragon scales or no, “Well done Astrid.” Gibber praised.  
Hiccup got up off the ground, from where he had fallen when Astrid yanked the axe, as she pointed it towards him, “Is this some kind of a joke to you? Our parent’s war is about to become ours, figure out which side you’re on.”  
Hiccup looked at her a bit hurt, granted he didn’t like her the same way he did as a kid, she had lost a lot of light as far as he was concerned, but still. Just because he didn’t want to fight dragons didn’t mean he wanted to destroy the Viking population.  
He ran to the forge after the others left and started his work, still fuming about what Astrid had said, so, since I don’t want to hurt Vikings does that mean I the entire dragon population to die?! No! Arg! Dad why did you have to make my life so complicated! Hiccup was so engrossed in his thoughts he failed to see Gobber enter the forge. He shook his head, Hiccup had never been one for violence unless it was absolutely the last resort to survival, so Astrid’s comment earlier must have been pretty hurtful. That and by how hard Hiccup was working was another indication. He had completely rebuilt a sword that had seemed beyond repair in under ten minutes. He did that when he was either very upset or he had some crazy invention in mind. Gobber left the forge, an angry Hiccup was a force to be reckoned with, and he never wanted to be on its receiving end.  
Hiccup finished at the forge shortly before sundown and made his way to the cave, lazily flying most of the way. Toothless was already there finishing up dinner and left a few fish for Hiccup. He roasted a fish while he vented his day to Toothless, who in turn felt for his brother. “Why don’t you just leave?” Toothless finally asked, “It’s not like they’re gonna accept that you’re a dragon and suddenly declare peace and since killing a dragon in your village is the key to becoming a Viking…”  
“I don’t know Toothless, this is my home…and I still have Gobber here and my dad, though, never mind. Can we not talk about that?”  
“Sure, hey, aren’t you supposed to be at Gobber’s feeding thingy?” Toothless asked.  
“Yeah, but I don’t care, it’s not like anything he’s gonna say hasn’t already been taught to me by Obsidian…how do you think their doing?” Hiccup asked, his voice fading as he looked out towards the clouds.  
“I don’t know.” Toothless purred a bit and rested his large head in Hiccup’s lap while he scratch his sweat spot, “Feels, so…good!”  
“Overgrown kitten.” Hiccup laughed, Toothless was too absorbed in the scratching to swat Hiccup for that comment.

Hiccup arrived a bit earlier the next day for training, albeit reluctantly-Toothless literally dragging him from the cave to get him there so he wouldn’t raise suspicion. Hiccup gave his ear flap a flicking’ for that. Gobber walked over to Hiccup while they had some time alone, “Where were ya last night lad?”  
“Home.” Hiccup answered simply.  
Gobber sent him a stern look, “I know Astrid made you upset lad but you were supposed to come to the meeting, yer never gonna pass training if you don’t get the lessons I teach ya, and that’s when I teach ya.”  
“Sorry, I just really didn’t want to socialize last night.” Hiccup said as the other teens filed in, finding buckets of water on the floor.  
“Today is about teamwork.” Gobber declared as he released the Zippleback and gas pseud out, “Now a wet dragon head can’t light its fire, hence, the buckets of water. The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky,” Gobber continued as the teens split into groups of two, “One head breathes gas and the other lights it. Your job is to know which is which.”  
Hiccup and Fishlegs stood back to back as Fishlegs nervously recounted, “Razor sharp, serrated teeth that inject venom from predigesting. First ambush attack, crushing its victims…”  
Hiccup whirled around to Fishlegs, “Will you please stop that?!” Don’t need to be giving that dragon any more ideas than it’s already got. Hiccup thought before a voice within the cloud of gas caught his ear.  
“We need to find a way out of here-” One voice said while another answered.  
“But what about the Halfling, we can’t just leave him here.”  
“He’s learning to fight our kind by the ways of the Vikings, he’s chosen his side. We need to figure a way out then out of the queens reach.”  
Snotlout’s voice cut into the conversation, “If that dragon shows either of his faces…there!”  
“Ah!”  
“Hey! It’s us idiots.” Ruffnut yelled.  
“Your butts are getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon.” Tuffnut replied.  
Snotlout spoke again, “Not that there’s anything wrong with a dragoness figure.”  
Really? Hiccup thought, so if I were to show you my real self right now you wouldn’t try and kill me? Yelling was heard from either side and Hiccup and Fishlegs pressed closer together as they gained sight of the other groups. They saw Tuffnut get pulled in then Astrid crouch low with her bucket, watch for the tail. The tail swept out and nocked Astrid off her feet and the bucket sent flying. Tuffnut came running out screaming, “Oh I’m hurt, I am very much hurt.”  
Fishlegs looked skittish, “Chances of survival are dwindling into single digits now.”  
A head suddenly came out from the cloud and Fishlegs jumped as Gobber shouted, “Now Fishlegs!”  
He dumped the water on the head and it spilled gas, “Oh, wrong head.”  
“Stupid Viking!” It said before spraying Fishlegs in gas as he went running.  
“Fishlegs!” Gobber yelled as he went running, leaving Hiccup alone.  
The sparking head came up next to Hiccup, “Halfling…!” It started then stopped after Hiccup threw the water, which fell just shy as the head reared back, “What is in your furless covering?”  
Hiccup looked at Gobber who was running over so Hiccup quickly whispered hoarsely, “Get back into your cage and I’ll give you some Dragonnip.”  
The Zippleback suddenly began backing up and Hiccup held out his hands for show and commanded, “Back, back, back! N-Now don’t you make me tell you again, yes, that’s right back into your cage.” He quickly took some ‘nip from his vest pocket and tossed it in before closing the doors, hopefully they would eat it before someone noticed…what was he saying, they never notice anything. He turned after closing the doors and saw the trainees and Gobber all staring at him shell-shocked, Fishlegs even dropped his bucket, “Ok, so are we done? ‘Cause I got some things I need to uh, yep, see ya, see ya tomorrow.”  
Hiccup ran out of the arena and weaved through the town a bit before he headed into the forest, he and Toothless had some training to do today, and it was much more enjoyable than training with the other teens. Hiccup flew up to Toothless, “Race you around the island!”  
“You’re on, prepare to lose Halfling!” Toothless roared back before shooting off.  
Hiccup beat his wings faster but began falling behind the Night Fury. A gust came up from behind and it gave him an idea. Angling himself up he shot into the higher layer of the atmosphere and into the stronger winds. They pushed him along and he added to it with his own wing beats until he had passed Toothless then collapsed them in slightly to dive at an angle that would take him into the cave, “Beating you!” Hiccup cheered as he shot by Toothless.  
Toothless in turn roared at him, “Trickster! No Halfling can beat a Night Fury even with Night Fury wings!”  
Hiccup pressed harder, straining his wings and making his muscles begin to tighten as he fought to keep his lead. He flew into the cave just as Toothless’ snout reached him, “I win, oh yeah! I finally beat you!”  
Toothless snorted and tripped Hiccup with his tail, “You cheated, I never said you could use the cross winds.”  
“Never said I couldn’t,” Hiccup pointed out, “How else was I supposed to beat you? I might be faster than most dragons but I still can’t beat a Night Fury without finding some loophole.”  
“And you better keep it that way, I won’t have my brother getting slow when I am a Night Fury.”  
“You’re too full of yourself.” Hiccup punched his shoulder lightly as he got up from the floor before he got a devilish smile and grabbed his sword. He walked into the light slightly and reflected the light into the cave.  
“Sunbody, no shiny!” Toothless cried as he took off after the light.  
Hiccup contained his laughter as Toothless ran all over the cave trying to catch the light. Finally he couldn’t contain it anymore as Toothless practically did a pretzel to try and get it. His sword clattered to the floor as his wings beat against the air a bit to add to the laughter, “You’re hysterical!”  
“Hey not fair! You know I can’t help it! I want to catch it but you just can’t. Little devil.” Toothless finally snorted as Hiccup managed to get up off the floor.

The next day’s training they were up against the Gronkle. After it took out most of the teens she went after Hiccup. He quickly pulled out some Dragonnip and the Gronkle fell to the ground in happy bliss, “Oh, Dragonnip, I haven’t had any ‘nip in years…” The Gronkle growled happily as her back leg circled in the air, much like a dog with its belly being scratched.  
Hiccup walked out of the arena and the teens pestered him with questions, “What was that?” Tuffnut asked.  
“I’ve you ever seen a Gronkle do that?” Snotlout asked him, for once he actually cared.  
Hiccup got very uncomfortable with all the sudden attention, actually preferring to not be so readily seen, “Oh, I-I…left my axe, back in the ring.” He turned quickly and had to dance around Astrid, who looked upset, as he ran back towards the ring, “You guys go on without me, I’ll catch up with ya.” No I won’t, I’m flying with my brother.  
The Nadder came again the day after and, like all the other times, the teens fell until Astrid and Hiccup were left. Astrid threw her axe at the Nadder perfectly but she deflected it and Astrid was forced to roll out of the way as the Nadder kept charging. She ran straight up to Hiccup who dropped the mace he had been holding as she looked at him curiously, “What are you doing?”  
Hiccup quickly moved to scratch the universal sweet spot and the Nadder fell mumbling something about sweet chicken legs. Astrid stopped as she looked at Hiccup with her axe raised while Hiccup just held a look of innocence and not wanting to be there at that time, or any time.  
That night he decide to eat at the great hall and walked past the other teens and sat alone at a table when he was suddenly swarmed by the Vikings, teens and adults. They began asking him a hundred questions, which he couldn’t even hear half of them as they were all talking at once. They kept getting closer in and he began to feel very Closter-phobic. Since he wasn’t being allowed to eat in peace he managed to slip between the people and out of the great hall and met up with Toothless, “Yeah, I’m just going to stay here at night, don’t need to bother with that anymore.”  
“You do realize that people are going to begin to wonder where you are now that you’re doing well in training. Speaking of which, how are the other dragons doing?”  
“Well, they don’t hate my guts anymore…” He trailed off because he still wasn’t sure how they felt, “But I think I’ll be fine, I spent as little time in the village before especially when my dad wasn’t home, I doubt they’ll care.”

“Meet the Terrible Terror.” Gobber said as it came out of its cage.  
Tuffnut laughed, “That’s like the size of my-” He was cut off by the Terror suddenly attacking him, “Oh, get it off, get it off!” Tuffnut shouted as the Vikings watching ‘oh’d and ouched’  
Hiccup walked forward and caught the sun’s light on the metal of the shield and the reflection caught the Terror’s attention, “Shiny, my shiny! Come back here shiny!”  
“Oh, I’m hurt, I’m very much hurt!” Tuffnut shouted as he ran away after the Terror abandoned his nose for the light reflection, “Wow, he’s better than you ever were.”  
Astrid glared at him then at Hiccup who looked down and quickly walked out heading for the forge to work on the new vest he’d been making. After several hours he wanted to stretch his wings so headed out for the woods. As he made his way through them he accidentally walked passed where Astrid was training. He ducked his head and walked quicker until he spotted some rocks and squeezed between two of them. Astrid was right on top of him and he heard her give a grunt of frustration before turning to leave. He walked a fair distance before spreading his wings and flying as quickly as he could to the cave. There he found Toothless waiting for him and looking expectant, “Found out that Terrors are even more into the light trick than you, shocker there, you’re pretty into that.”  
Toothless snorted in disagreement before he said, “Tinywings were never very bright.”  
Hiccup arched his eyebrow at Toothless, “So what does that make you?”  
“That makes for a falling Halfling if he doesn’t learn to shut his mouth.” Toothless teased.

They didn’t have training that day so Hiccup and Toothless spent it all training and flying, and training while flying. They were soaring high above the clouds when Toothless suddenly saw something, “Hiccup, I think your dad’s back.”  
Hiccup’s eyes narrowed and the pupils grew so they resembled that of a dragons as he looked, “Well at least he’s alive…and I’m so dead when he finds out, he’s gonna expect me to win the ‘honor’ of killing the Nightmare. Toothless, I can’t do that!”  
Toothless flew beside him, “Calm down, you said that the elder of your village choses who gets to kill the Flamewing?”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah, so if I flunk tomorrow she’ll choose Astrid! But he’ll still die.”  
“Hiccup, he really has no other choice, once a dragon is captured their basically on a death sentence, it’s just a matter of when.” Toothless tried to console. Hiccup nodded but it still didn’t make him feel any better.  
Later that night Hiccup sat his small workshop in the back of the forge and worked on the vest some more when Stoic suddenly came in. Hiccup jumped up startled, “Dad, your back! Gobber’s not here so…”  
“I know,” He squeezed himself into the room, “I came looking for you.”  
“You did?” He asked, already knowing he was there because of his ‘accomplishments’ in dragon ‘training.’  
“You been keeping secrets.”  
“Well it really wasn’t a secret.” He muttered and looked around, eyes searching for an escape.  
“Just how long did you think you could hide it from me?” Stoic asked, face as stern as ever.  
“Until Gobber opened his big mouth.” Hiccup stated.  
“Nothing happens on this island without me hearing about it.”  
“Exactly what I said, Gobber told you so I had no need to.”  
“So, let’s talk, about that dragon.”  
“Well, well, um, does it have to be a Monstrous Nightmare?” Hiccup asked.  
Stoic started laughing and Hiccup joined in nervously, “Yeah.”  
“Oh and it only gets better. Just wait ‘till you spill a Nadder’s guts for the first time and mount your first Gronkle head on a spear, what a feeling!” Stoic ‘lightly’ punched Hiccup’s arm and sent him reeling into a basket. Hiccup however held a looked of disgust as he was clutching his stomach, the thought of killing dragons just because made him sick, the only time he actually had the urged to hurl his stomach. But Stoic was oblivious to it all, “You really had me going there son. All those years of the worst Viking Berk has ever seen, Odin, it was rough, I almost gave up on you…but all the while you were holding out on me, o’ Thor almighty! Ah, with you doing so well in the ring we finally have something to talk about.”  
Hiccup felt shattered inside, he had known it all along, he had heard his father talking to Gobber late at night about him, but now he finally said it to his face. His dad had given up on him. All he had wanted was his father’s approval in something, his father’s love, but he was getting it for all the wrong reasons. Would he change when he let Astrid win? He didn’t want to let his father down but at the same time he couldn’t utterly betray himself and his mother by killing an innocent dragon in cold blood. He just stood there looking awkwardly between the floor and his father’s eyes. He looked so happy, so-proud, Hiccup almost couldn’t take it anymore. Stoic seemed to remember something as he pulled out something and handed it to Hiccup, “Oh, I almost forgot, it’s to keep you safe, in the ring.”  
“Thanks,” He began figuring it.  
“Ah, yer mother would’ve wanted ya to have it, it’s half of her breast plate.” He suddenly pulled his hand away a bit and his eyes widened as Stoic tapped his helmet, “Matching set, keeps her, keeps her close. Wear it proudly, you deserve it. You’ve held up yer end of the deal.”  
Hiccup bit his lip before he yawned, “I should really, get to bed.”  
“Yes, good, ok. Good talk and yer good?”  
“Ah, yeah, I’ll see you back at the house. Thanks for stopping by and for the breast hat.”  
“The hat. Good night.” Stoic said before leaving the room.  
Hiccup sat back down and banged his head against the desk, “Idiot, idiot, idiot! Ah…everything’s so messed up!” He stood and walked out, “Just stick with the plan and let Astrid win…oh boy.” He mumbled running his hands through his hair and walked to his house.  
The next day came too early, actually the training at the ring came too early. Unlike the other times Astrid and Hiccup were the only ones in the ring and they were fighting the Gronkle. As soon as Gobber let her out Hiccup hid behind one of the small wooden walls, letting Astrid take this round. Astrid crouched next to him and shoved his shield down, “Stay out of the way, I’m winning this thing.” She threatened.  
The crowd gathered cheered for whichever teen they wanted to win as Astrid moved away from Hiccup to take the Gronkle. He looked up to see the Gronkle charging him and saw no Astrid in sight. Swallowing a lump as the Gronkle suddenly stopped, when they heard Astrid yelling, before he was left with no other choice but to put the Gronkle to sleep before either Astrid killed her or he was killed by Astrid. She fell under his hand just as Astrid came into view. She looked shocked, horrified, stunned, and mainly very ticked, “No!” She cried while swinging her axe, “YOUSONOFAHALFTROLLRATEATINGMUNGEBUCKET!”  
“Wait, wait!” Stoic called out to the crowed as Gothi hit her stick to the ground.  
“So, later.” Hiccup said trying to walk out before Gobber caught him.  
“Uh-oh, not so fast.”  
“I-I’m kinda late for…” Hiccup started.  
Fuming Astrid pointed her axe at him, “What? Late for what exactly?”  
“Ok, quiet down, the elder has decided.” Stoic called out.  
Hiccup closed his eyes and prayed, please chose Astrid, please choose Astrid…he hear a bunch of ‘oh’s before he cringed when Gobber pointed to him, “Oh, you’ve done it! You’ve done it Hiccup! You get to kill the dragon!”  
If looks could kill Hiccup would be no more than a smoking pile of ash. He gulped and held a look of horror on his face when he saw Astrid’s face, she had wanted that ‘honor’ so bad, so she could redeem her family honor, but he had stolen it from her. He didn’t even want it, there what no way in Midgard, Asgard, or any other of the nine realms or beyond that he was going to kill a dragon in cold blood. The other teens ran over and Fishlegs lifted him on his shoulder and cheered, as did the rest of the crowd. “Ho-ho! That’s my boy!” Stoic cried.  
Hiccup put on a show of excitement, “Yeah! Yes! I can’t wait I’m so ecstatic with joy!”  
He managed to escape the crowd after half an hour and ran to his house and up to his room, slamming the door and locking it as he entered before undoing his vest and letting his wings fall out and stretch before curling up in a ball. His body shook as he tried to calm his mind of racing thoughts, he couldn’t kill that dragon, I won’t kill that dragon. He swallowed and stood, there was only one way for him to get out of this alive and for him not to see his father’s disappointment again-he had to run away.  
His fists curled in as he set his resolution and grabbed a bag and began filling it with items he needed, clothes and his journals went first, many of those journals holding dragon information collected over the years. Next he packed some jugs of water and whatever money he had stored away over the years. Weapons he could store on his person with no trouble so they wouldn’t need room, he grabbed a few other things from the house before he headed to the forge. There he packed another sack of leather and its working tools, the vest he had been making, along with his forging tools. He carried the sack back to his house without raising suspicion, no one suspected him of doing anything really.  
Hiccup sat on his bed swinging his legs, as he thought about what he was doing and he assured himself it was the only way, when pounding on his door brought him out of it. Curiously he ran downstairs and opened it to reveal a very mad Astrid with an axe, “W-what the? What are you doing here?”  
She stormed inside, “I want to know what’s going on. No one just gets as good as you do, especially you. Start talking.”  
“Uh, I-uh…” Hiccup said smartly as she pinned him to the wall.  
“Are you training with someone? It better not involve this, why don’t you take it off, you don’t need it anyway.” Astrid threatened gripping the side of his vest.  
Hiccup quickly swatted her hand away from it afraid she might find out, what difference would it make anyways? “Why do you care about what I wear? I’ve always worn it so it would have no difference on my performance.”  
Astrid pointed her axe at him again and caught his throat between its blades, “You better not be lying, and know that I’m going to get to the bottom of this.” She punched him in the gut, “That’s for the lies I know are somewhere,” She said before slugging him in the shoulder and causing him to take a step back from the force, “And that’s for everything else.” With that she stormed from the house, a little shocked that Hiccup had only taken one step backward from her punch. Most full grown men take at least three! Maybe it has something to do with Snotlout always beating on him…  
Hiccup watched her go for the last time before he closed his eyes and closed the door, “I’m sorry dad, Gobber, but I have no other choice.”  
With that he ran up to his room and grabbed the two large sacks before jumping out his window and running a ways until he felt safe to expose his wings. Balancing the sacks precariously he flew to the cave to find a surprised Toothless waiting for him, “What happened? What’s with all the sacks?”  
Hiccup walked over and strapped on his sword, sheath, and shield before he grabbed the sacks and put the saddle he had made on Toothless and connected the sacks to them, “We’re leaving, I can’t stay on Berk anymore.”  
“What happened?” Toothless asked again getting worried now.  
“I was chosen to kill the Nightmare, Toothless I can’t do it! I won’t do it, I’m not staying. You can either come with or I’ll go alone, either way I’m leaving.”  
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down Hiccup, I’ll come, I just wanted to know what happened…are you sure that this is what you want to do?”  
“Yes, though I would like to free the dragons in the arena…”  
Toothless nuzzled his brother, “You know we can’t do that, their under to heavy guard at this time, I’m sorry.”  
Hiccup nodded and looked at him, “You going to be ok with all that weight?”  
Toothless snorted, “I’ll be fine.”  
Hiccup nodded and they took flight, Hiccup taking one last look at the island he had once called home before flying out to the open see, “What do you say we find my mom?”  
Toothless snorted and shook his head, “Mom and dad said don’t they would come and find us when the time came. Besides, we promised we wouldn’t and dragons with honor don’t break their word.”  
Hiccup sighed, “Yeah, you’re right…so should we southwest?”  
“Sounds good to me…though, let’s take a detour around Dragon Island…”  
“Yeah, I would rather not tangle with the queen right now.”  
“Nope,” Toothless whole heartedly agreed.  
“Though, maybe someday we can come back and end her tyrannical reign…we need more dragons though.”  
“Don’t be getting any ideas Hiccup, she’s the size of a mountain with enough fire power to take out several islands before she runs out of gas.” Toothless warned.  
Hiccup nodded, “I wasn’t thinking today, just, someday, soon hopefully. I would like to have the raids on Berk stop, if only for the merciless killing to end.” Toothless nodded in agreement before they flew on in silence.

Stoic returned home late that night and found Hiccup’s door close, “Must be resting up for the big day tomorrow.” He rubbed his hands together gleefully, “I can’t wait until I really take him hunting and show him the best way to kill a dragon, ah, he’ll make a fine chief one day now that the village starts to accept him more.” He walked off to bed jovially, not realizing that Hiccup’s bed was empty and cold.  
Stoic gave a speech that roused the crowed as they whistled and shouted for Hiccup, but he never showed. After a while the crowd began to quieten to a whisper as they waited for Hiccup, eventually Gobber came up, “Stoic he isn’t showin’ up, should we let Astrid?”  
Stoic glared at him, “He probably just slept in, I’ll go get him up.” Stoic barged into the house and up to Hiccup’s room, “Son? Son! Yer late, ya should be out there already and, open up this door!” Stoic started banging on the door demanding that it be opened. Eventually Stoic had enough and he went downstairs to get the key then returned and unlocked the door. What greeted him was a sight that horrified him, an empty room. Completely void of any sign that this had been Hiccup’s room. All that was there were a few blankets on the shelves, everything else was gone. His widened eyes drifted to Hiccup’s desk and saw the helmet he had given him the other day along with a piece of paper secured firmly under the helmet written in Hiccup’s neat writing…  
Dad,  
By the time you read this I will be miles away from Berk so don’t send out search parties as it will be a waste of time and resources. After much debate I decided to leave, the final straw being that I was chosen to kill the Nightmare. Dad I said it before and I’ll say it again, I will not kill another living, breathing being without good cause. I know what you’ll say ‘They’ve killed hundreds of us!’ And yes, they have, I will not deny that fact, but we have also killed thousands, yes thousands of them. I was never, and never will be, a dragon killer.  
I have never been truly welcome on Berk since mom was taken. My birth right has been challenged often and even you seemed disappointed. The other day when we talked I saw something for the first time in many, many years. I saw a proud father, but he was proud of me for the wrong reasons. He was proud because the child he had always wanted was finally starting to mold into the form he had always wanted, not proud of his son for who he actually was. When I saw that looked I wanted more, so much more, but I could never have it being me and I couldn’t stand seeing that proud face become one of disappointment again…I know you are disappointed now, but at least I don’t have to see it. Call me a coward I don’t care, but I couldn’t stand to have my heart broken in such a way.  
It would be best for everyone if I just leave, you guys probably wouldn’t have really notice that I was gone if I hadn’t come in first in dragon ‘training.’ Again I’m sorry but this was the only option I saw at the time. Tell Gobber that he has always been like a second dad to me and I’ll miss him, actually you’ll probably give this to him anyway so…hey Gobber, sorry I won’t be able to help you in the forge anymore. Thank you for everything you’ve taught me over the years and I will truly miss you.  
~HHH III  
By the time Stoic finished the letter he had done something he had only done once before, he cried. He set the paper down carefully as if it was the most important artifact in the world and he fell to the floor, “Oh son, I did this, I’m so sorry.”


	7. Chapter 7

They flew for hours until Hiccup was sure his wings were going to fall off, “Toothless, I need to land, for the night.”  
Toothless warbled worriedly as he saw his brother falter momentarily and fall a few feet, “That would be best, as you can hardly stay aloft anymore.”  
“I don’t see an island anywhere…do you see one, or a sea stack?”  
Toothless narrowed his eyes and shook his head, “No. You should stop fling for a bit and rest.”  
Now it was Hiccup’s turn to shake his head, “No, you’ve already got enough of a load.”  
“I’ll be fine, it’s you I’m worried about. Night Fury wings and training or no, you’re still half human.”  
“But-” Hiccup started before faltering again and Toothless dropping down and catching him.  
“Mom and dad would kill me if they saw you like this, so just go to sleep for a bit. I promise as soon as I find somewhere to land I will.”  
He lost his strength to resist any more so simply nodded and fell asleep. Toothless flew while his brother slept until he saw a sea stack and landed before carefully letting Hiccup slide off his back, curling around he relented to sleep also.

Hiccup woke up in the pitch blackness that could only be Toothless. He tried to move out of his grasp but was restricted, “Alright you useless reptile, get up!”  
“No.” Toothless growled lowly in a playful way.  
“Toothless! You’re craping my wings!”  
“Am not.”  
“Are too!” Hiccup shouted.  
“Fine.” Toothless released him only to pin him again and start bathing his head and chest.  
“Gah! Toothless! You know that doesn’t wash out! This is disgusting.” He muttered, flinging a bit of it back at Toothless.  
“Are you ready?”  
“I guess, where do you think we are?”  
Toothless sniffed the air and looked around, “If I had to guess, we’re way outside the Archipelago.”  
“Well that gives us a lot to go off of.” Hiccup jibbed.  
Toothless hit him on the head with his tail, “Unless you’ve got a map or a better sense of direction, quit complaining.”  
“You know what, I do have a better sense of direction.”  
“Oh yeah? Then why is it you’re always getting lost?”  
“Do not!” Hiccup shouted playfully and took to the air, Toothless not far behind.  
“So, how far out were you planning on going?”  
“I don’t know…I think as far as my father is concerned we’re probably far enough already…but I don’t know. We should probably set up a base camp somewhere so that we can explore and have a point of reference.”  
Toothless nodded, “Well I opt to find it soon, your stuff is heavy!”  
Hiccup laughed before he fell quiet, “Hey Toothless, do you think there are others like me?”  
“Huh? I don’t know, why?”  
“Well, Obsidian talked like there were several dragons turned human, like mom…do you think we could find them? Or, do you think that they had kids?”  
Toothless sighed, “Hiccup, I don’t think we should, dad said they all went into hiding-that was the reason that they became human in the first place…as for them having kids, I haven’t got a clue.”  
Hiccup nodded, “I guess you’re right, but I’m still curious, ya know? Just to be able to see others like me…”  
“What? Am I not good enough for you now? I feel the love.”  
“Yeah, you’re not getting any sympathy from me you lazy reptile.”  
“Lazy am I? Alright, well you can just take your stuff and I’ll enjoy a nice leisurely flight.”  
“Alright, lazy most of the time.” Hiccup amended.  
Toothless sent a small plasma blast in front of Hiccup, the shockwave of which upsetting his flight course slightly. Toothless laughed while Hiccup glared, “Don’t mess with a Night Fury!”  
“You’re going to get it.” Hiccup growled.  
“Hm, not any time soon.”  
They flew for what felt to be another couple hours and both longing for at least a rest. An island came into view a short while later and Hiccup cried, “Toothless! An island…I need to rest.”  
Toothless nodded, “I will not object.”  
They flew closer and a strange noise erupted from the island. Hiccup tensed a bit and flew closer to Toothless, “Whoa, what is that?”  
Toothless’ ears twitched, “I’m not sure, probably just an inhabitant of the island.”  
“Should we move on? I don’t recognize the dragon call.”  
“Hm, it came from the west side of the island. If we stay east we should be ok, at least for a bit.”  
“Ok, I could use a quick nap.” Hiccup said as they landed.  
Toothless rolled his eyes as Hiccup took off the sacks. He stretched his wings then took to the air again before returning with some fish. Dropping one by Hiccup he ate his pile, “Um, cod, is that salmon? Even better!”  
Hiccup laughed at his brother’s antics to which Toothless bobbed him with his tail, “This place doesn’t look to bad. And if the dragons aren’t supper territorial it would be a nice place to live.”  
“Don’t get your hopes up Hiccup.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know, just brain storming.”  
“Is that what that smell was? I thought it was your fish burning.”  
“It’s called cooking.”  
“You’re still burning it, which takes all the flavor out of it.” Toothless snorted.  
“Meh, I can’t help it if you dragons don’t have any sense in taste.”  
“I could say the same thing for Halflings.”  
“Good night.” Hiccup sighed as Toothless curled around him and they fell asleep.

Hiccup awoke the next morning oddly cold. He turned to curl into Toothless more when he realized that he was no longer present. “Uh, Toothless? Toothless!” Hiccup got up and started into the forest, “Toothless, come on answer me!” He still got no reply. Sighing he turned back towards the beach, “Eh, he can take care of himself.”  
It was then that he the strange noise again, actually it sounded like a song, “Come, rest, I will keep you safe. Rest your wings. You are tired, close your eyes…” The song or chant or whatever it was kept on in a repeating cycle.  
Hiccup hummed and his brow creased in thought before a rustling to his left caught his attention and he whirled around, drawing his sword in one smooth movement, the metal and sheath making almost no noise. Out of the bushes leaped an inky black mass. Hiccup dropped his shoulders and sighed, “Really Toothless?”  
“Sorry, you should have seen your face though.” The dragon chortled.  
Hiccup frowned and clapped him on the ear, “You scared me halfway to Valhalla!”  
Toothless smiled before it fell again, “Hiccup we have to get out of here.”  
“Why? I thought you said we’d be safe here.”  
“Well I was wrong. This is the home of a Vígspár, we have to go, now!”  
Hiccup began hitching the sacks back onto him, “What’s a Víg-Vígp-”  
“Vígspár. There a dragon that lures other dragons in with its song before it traps them and eats them.”  
“Oh, I remember mom talking about them now…” His eyes widened suddenly, “Toothless, it must have other dragons trapped, we have to help them!”  
Toothless caught Hiccup by the collar before he got far, “I’m sorry Hiccup, there’s nothing we can do. I’ve barely managed to get him to let us go without lives.”  
“Wait, you talked to him?!”  
“Yes, and he wasn’t happy. Point is that we need to go, now!”  
“But Toothless! We’ll be leaving them to die!”  
Toothless sighed, “Hiccup, most of them are too weak to fly anyway, they’re as good as dead. Besides, this is his territory, not ours. And with no place to retreat to, we don’t need to start a war among dragons. I know how you feel Hiccup, but we have to leave them.”  
Hiccup dropped his shoulders but nodded and they left.

They flew for another few hours and landed on another island. Hiccup set down and looked around, “This one looks good. What do you think bud?”  
Toothless sniffed the air, “Hm, I don’t.”  
“I’ll go look around.”  
“Be careful.”  
Hiccup waved him off, “Yeah, yeah I know.”  
Toothless looked around and found a nice spot in the sun and laid down, a nap sounds good…He had just fallen into a nice sleep when Hiccup’s yelling brought him out of it. “What? Hiccup are you alright?”  
Hiccup landed, flapping him wings nervously, “I think we should go…”  
“What’d you do?”  
“N-nothing!” Hiccup stammered before a snort from beside them caught their attention.  
“A bore, lovely…Dinner!” Toothless suddenly perked up.  
Hiccup tapped his shoulder, “How about an island full…literally.”  
Toothless sighed, “Only you Hiccup-” Several more snorts cut him off, an entire heard was encircling them, “You know, maybe your right…we’ll come back later.”  
They found another island only half-an-hour away but Toothless didn’t even land, opting to go around in a very wide arc, saying that the island was infested with Blue Oleanders. Hiccup quickly agreed and they flew for another hour, eventually landing upon a beautiful island that seemed perfect. “This looks good bud. What’d you think?”  
They glided around the island and Toothless nodded, “I like it and it doesn’t looked to be claimed…I’m in!”  
“Sweet! Let’s set down in that glade and we’ll start planning.”  
Once they landed Toothless swatted him with his tail, “What do you need to plan? You’re a dragon for the White King’s sake, I’m sure there are plenty of good caves around.”  
“You may be fine sleeping in a cave for the rest of your life but I’m still half human and would prefer to have someplace to work and forge.”  
Toothless grumbled, “Fine, I guess you’re right.”  
“Good, cause you wouldn’t stop me anyway.” Hiccup smiled as he unhooked the packs from Toothless.  
Toothless shook himself and smiled gummily, “I’ll go get dinner, try not to get killed while I’m gone.”  
“Hey! I’m not that clumsy.”  
“Boars on the other island?” Toothless questioned.  
Hiccup put on a playful pout and twitched his wings, “Beside the point. You’re just overprotective.”  
Toothless whacked Hiccup on the head before he left and Hiccup set up a temporary camp. Toothless dumped the fish he had caught and Hiccup grabbed on and started cooking it. Toothless ate happily as the sun began to go down and Hiccup yawned, he laughed until he heard something and his ear plates perked up, “Did you hear that Hiccup?”  
“No, what was it?”  
“Probably nothing. Too small to be a dragon.” Hiccup nodded, bleary eyed before Toothless suddenly drug him-earning a surprised yelp from Hiccup-onto the ground and curled into a ball.  
Hiccup grumbled something incoherent before burring his face into Toothless’ chest, “Night bud.”  
They both woke up early the next morn and began surveying the island for a suitable spot to settle. They found an open plain on a large ledge, too high up to be reached without wings but the cliff behind it was small enough to be accessible without wings. However to intruders it would be a challenge as they would have to cross the rest of the island to reach it. Hiccup began laying the foundation for his building and started building as night began to fall and Hiccup and Toothless laid down for the night. Hiccup was almost asleep when Toothless jumped up and Hiccup fell to the floor, “What the heck Toothless!”  
“Shhh! I heard something.”  
Hiccup rubbed his eyes, “It’s probably what you heard last night.”  
Toothless bared his teeth and began to growl, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”  
“You said it was too small to be a dragon.” Hiccup said warily.  
Toothless was about to answer when a monstrous dragon broke out of the woods, “Dang…how did that move so quietly?!”  
Hiccup’s wings hitched as he looked at it as it roared, “Intruders! What is your purpose here?”  
Toothless circled around Hiccup protectively but Hiccup placed his hand on his snout to calm him, “I’m sorry, we didn’t know that this island was claimed. We were merely looking for a place to live.”  
“You mean no harm?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, none at all.” He looked closer at the dragon, his eyes narrowing into dragonic slits, and saw that the ‘dragon’ wasn’t all he seemed to be, “He’s not one dragon…” Hiccup whispered.  
Toothless dropped his protective stance slightly to get a better look at the dragon, “What the-it a bunch of Tinywings!”  
The ‘dragon’ broke apart in a fury of wings and a white dragon descended towards them, “I’m SilverClaw, alpha of this pack. Who are you?”  
Toothless uncurled around Hiccup, “I’m Toothless and this is my Halfling rider Hiccup.”  
“Halfling?”  
“Rider?” Hiccup asked.  
“You ride me right?” Toothless asked.  
“Sometimes, if I don’t feel like flying myself.”  
“Then there you go.”  
SilverClaw asked, “So they are more than myths?”  
Toothless nodded, “Of course.”  
SilverClaw approached Hiccup, slightly warry, both of them inspecting each other curiously, “You have wings!”  
“Yeah, kinda knew that.” Hiccup nodded.  
SilverClaw bowed, “We would be honored to share our island with you. You can call me Silver.”  
Hiccup smiled, “Thanks Silver.”  
Toothless glared before lightening up, “You have my thanks.”  
Silver spread his wings and took flight again, his pack gathering around him and they left. Hiccup scratched Toothless, “See, you were worried for nothing.”  
Toothless snorted, “I suppose.”

People walked through the forest shouting Hiccup’s name. After Stoic had found the letter he organized a search party, much of the village joining him since they had taken a liking to Hiccup since he started doing well in dragon training. Stoic didn’t believe that his son had left the island, and if he had he couldn’t have gotten far. He’d only left the other night, not even the swiftest warrior could have gotten as far as his son said he’d gotten. “Hiccup! Hiccup!”  
Gobber shouted also before turning to Stoic, “Maybe he’s on the other side of the island?”  
Stoic looked out across the water where the ships were patrolling and looking for any boat that could be Hiccup’s. Sighing he turned to Gobber, “Keep searching, he couldn’t have gone far. We’ll check over by Raven’s Point. What did I do wrong Gobber? I know I probably wasn’t the best father.” Gobber sent him a ‘no, really’ look but Stoic missed it, “But I did everything I could to protect him.”  
“Maybe that’s his problem.” Stoic glared so Gobber hurriedly continued, “You spent so much time trying to protect him I think you ended up hurting him.” Gobber smiled fondly and sadly, “He likes his space. If he wasn’t in the forge he was out exploring the woods…you know, I’ll never know how he didn’t run into trouble. I’ve run into my fair share of boars and wolves in these woods yet he never did.”  
Stoic hummed in agreement as they reached Raven’s Point and the party spread out. Stoic started searching the woods for any sign when he found a well-trodden, but well hidden, path, “Gobber!”  
The hefty man came over surprisingly quick, “What is it Stoic?” He stopped when he saw the path, “You think this is Hiccup’s?”  
“Who else would it be?”  
“Stoic!” Someone else shouted.  
Stoic ran over and nearly fell into a cove. He looked down and saw a well lived in cove. Cautiously he made his way down and saw a place where a fire had been started many, many times. There were several groves in the ground, some quite old-possibly even many years old, but what startled him the most where the burns that littered the cove. Gobber walked up beside him and whistled low, “Looks like the training ring here.”  
“What do you make of it Gobber? DO you know what dragon could have done this?” Stoic asked, his fear beginning to grow.  
Gobber walked up to one of the burns that looked fresher before sniffing it and taking a small taste, “Whatever dragon made this it is none that I know. Stoic, you don’t think-”  
Stoic glared at Gobber, “My son would never do that! He knows that dragons are killing machines with no thoughts or feelings.” His face suddenly fell, “Oh Odin.”  
“What is it Stoic?”  
“This dragon took Hiccup.”  
Gobber’s brow furrowed, “Stoic, Hiccup said he was running away, not that a dragon kidnapped him.”  
“Then how else would you explain his disappearance and this dragon?”  
Gobber knelt next to one of the groves, “Whatever this dragon was it has been here for a long time but at the same time the youngest burn mark looks to be a couple weeks old. Long before Hiccup left last night.”  
Stoic sighed in slight relief, “At least those beasts didn’t get him.” He looked out across the cove, “Keep searching. He has to be here, somewhere…he has to be.”  
 


	8. Chapter 8

Hiccup finished hammering the last plank on his home/forge. Toothless was lazing in the sun, his tongue flopping out as he snoozed on his back. Hiccup laughed at the sight before he went inside and finding it structurally stable, “I think that’s good.”  
A sudden chirp caught his attention and saw the darker and slightly larger tiny wing, SilverClaw and a few other who had taken to the rafters in his house. “Didn’t want the caves anymore?”  
SilverClaw blearily opened an eye, “This was closer…” He trailed off back into sleep.  
Hiccup left again and found Toothless stretching, “There you are.”  
“Wanna go for a flight?” Toothless just looked at him, “Yeah, I don’t even need to ask.”  
“No.” They took to the air and lazily flew for a bit before Toothless got a dark, humored look in his eye.  
Hiccup flew a little farther away, “What are you thinking?”  
“Huh? I wasn’t thinking anything…”  
“Uh-hu, I know that-” He was suddenly cut off when Toothless veered sharply and almost hit him. Hiccup dropped at the last second and narrowly avoided his brother. He then realized it for what it was-Toothless was training, well, they were training. “It’s going to be that way is it?”  
Toothless let out a gargling laugh as he attacked Hiccup again. He easily avoided him this time and jumped on his tail before circling around again. Toothless stumbled in the air momentarily as his tail was suddenly knocked outta whack before he felt something lightly collide with his side. Hiccup came out from under him with a shield in hand. Toothless grinned as he charged up a shot and fired at Hiccup. Hiccup, for his part, held against the shot firmly-more so than most could have-as he redirected the shot with Night Fury like accuracy and hit Toothless in the paw as he didn’t want to actually hurt him.  
“Ow! Watch it!” Toothless hissed as he drew his hit paw in closer to his body.  
“You fired it.” Hiccup shot back happily.  
Toothless grumbled, “I hate that trick.”  
Hiccup beamed. He had figured it out a few weeks ago while training with Toothless on the ground…the inhabitant dragons didn’t particularly care for that day, learning just how unexpected some of Hiccup’s attacks could be or how unconventional his defenses were. “Yeah, well you’ll like it when I’m defending myself from other dragons.”  
“Well sure against them, but not against me!” Toothless cried indignantly.  
“Ah buck up oh ‘unholy offspring of lightning and death itself!’”  
They landed and Toothless attempted to trip Hiccup with his tail but he simply jumped over it. He nodded, without the dejection of the village Hiccup was growing in his skills quite rapidly; while he had been impressive before, when even he was actually in the village he was often skittish and unsure of himself-bar his blacksmithing skills.

Gobber pounded away at the metal in the forge. Three weeks had past and still no sign, not an inkling, of Hiccup. The village had returned to some normalcy, all of them had been disheartened by the news of Hiccup missing though it had passed within the weeks. This was why Gobber had taken refuge in the forge, he needed a break from all the people that could only remember Hiccup as a past memory! It infuriated him that they thought of him like that but at the same time he understood it, they had never understood him so the brief while they did wasn’t enough to leave a lasting impression.  
He dunked the ax into the water before handing it to the awaiting Viking, there were a good dozen of them waiting for their repaired weapons. The Viking took it and laughed good naturally, “Looking yer skills are failing ya Gobber? This is the second time ya had to repair it this month!”  
“If you would stop hitting rocks with it I wouldn’t have to.” Gobber grumbled.  
“I was chopping the trees!”  
“Eh, the trees are as good as rocks.” He shrugged as he picked up the next item, a sword.  
Stoic walked in, his face in its natural emotionless state, “How are the repairs going Gobber?” He looked at the large stack of weapons. They had been raided the other night and while casualties were low their weapons had suffered.  
Gobber sighed, “As good as they can without Hiccup here ta help me.” Gobber suddenly stopped and held up the sword which was in a very sorry and twisted shape. “Ya see this? Do you know how long this takes me to repair?”  
Stoic stared at it dumbly, he was no blacksmith-nor had he ever claimed to be one, “Uh…”  
“At least ten minutes, this’ll take a half-an-hour with the condition it’s in!” Gobber shouted before Stoic could answer, “And do you know how long it took Hiccup? For a normally broken sword, a minute! This would have taken him two or three at most! I don’t know how he did it! I know I taught him all he knows about the craft but how in Odin’s beard did he work so fast?! I mean, he knew what was wrong with each and every weapon by looking at it just once, once!”  
Stoic sighed, he knew Hiccup’s disappearance had affected Gobber and was now just venting to him, but this was new information. Had Hiccup really been that good? Gobber stopped and looked at his friend and chief, “Ya didn’t know, did ya?”  
“No, Hiccup and I, didn’t speak much…”  
Gobber sighed, “Follow me, there’s something you might want to see.”  
Gobber led Stoic back to the house, “Gobber, this is my own home. Don’t you think I’d checked it for him already?”  
“When was the last time you were in your storage room?” Gobber suddenly asked, stopping at the door.  
Stoic thought about it and answered, “Not for many years. I’ve never had a need for it. Why do you ask?”  
Gobber opened the door to a darkened room and handed Stoic a torch, “Because this is where Hiccup kept most of the things he made.”  
Stoic’s eyes widened as he quickly grabbed the torch and hurried into the room, only to have his breath stolen. He had a regular armory in this small room. Swords, spears, axes of all different makes were hanging neatly on the walls. Shields of all kinds were hanging next to the sword-s that were also of the same kind. Several other weapons lay here and there, everything in the room clearly not of Viking origin. “Hiccup, made all of this?”  
Gobber nodded with a slight smile, “Yea, once Gothi gave him that book when he was you he started makin’ every one he could.”  
Stoic picked up a perfectly balanced Zweihänder, “Why, why did he never tell me about these?” He continued to inspect the sword, finding no flaw.  
Gobber walked in and picked up a Cinquedea, “My guess, he didn’t want to embarrass you or himself.”  
“Embarrassment? Why would he be afraid of that?”  
“Well, no one ever appreciated his inventions so I’d assume he figured that no one would appreciate his, uh, other unconventional weapons.”  
Stoic looked at the other weapons, “They all are very un-Viking like…I suppose I never gave him a reason to think otherwise.”  
“Ya don’t say.” Gobber huffed.  
Stoic placed the Zweihänder back on its designated rack as Astrid came in, “Uh, chief, the twins have done it again.”  
Stoic sighed, “Of course they have.”  
Gobber and Astrid watched him leave before Astrid looked at the vault, “Where’d all these come from?”  
“Hiccup.” Gobber said simply.  
“Seriously? I thought he was the nonfighting type.” Astrid said a bit surprised.  
“Normally, but back him in a corner and he’d fight back. Didn’t Stoic not tell you that he took down two Outcasts during their attack several years back?”  
Astrid nodded, “He did, actually I you did too. I just didn’t believe it was him-I thought Dagur did it.”  
“No,” Gobber shook his head and chuckled a little, “He was out cold.”  
“Wow…were did he learn to fight? It certainly wasn’t from anyone in the village. Did Stoic teach him?”  
“I don’t know lass. Stoic tried but it never ended well or with any progress and I didn’t teach him. Maybe it was from some book.”  
“Hm, well see you Gobber.” Astrid said as she left.  
Meandering through the town she eventually reached the Great Hall and found Fishlegs eating while reading a book. She grabbed some lunch and sat next to him. He looked up and smiled, after Hiccup left they had begun to get close again. “Hey Astrid.”  
“What are you reading ‘Legs?”  
“Just a botany book.” He said as he set it to the side. He took another bite before Snotlout came over.  
“Hey babe.”  
Astrid groaned, “What do you want Snotlout?”  
“I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out tonight?”  
“What do you think?” Astrid asked.  
“Yes?” Snotlout asked hopeful.  
“No, not even if Ragnarok came.”  
“That hurts.” Snotlout said with a hand over his heart, “Just wait, you’ll fall for me.”  
Two pairs of snickers were heard behind Snotlout and the twins came into view. Tuffnut laid an elbow on Snotlout, “You sire have a way of repelling the ladies.”  
“Why yes I-wait! No I don’t!” Snotlout cried out indignantly.  
Fishlegs sighed, “So what did you two get to do this time?”  
Ruffnut shivered as Tuffnut answered, “Community service-cleaning out the yak pens.”  
Astrid sighed, “Well maybe one day you’ll learn.”  
“Us?” Ruffnut asked before Tuffnut finished, “Learn? Yeah that’s funny.”  
Astrid shook her head and looked at her plate of food again, Fishlegs noticing. “You alright Astrid?”  
“Hu? I don’t know…did you know that Hiccup had filled Stoic storage room with weapons?”  
“What?” Fishlegs asked.  
Snotlout scoffed, “That fishbone? He couldn’t even swing a sword properly, why would he do that?”  
Astrid shook her head, “I don’t know, but apparently that story Gobber told us when we were kids. You know, the one when the Outcasts attacked and Hiccup took down two of them?”  
“Oh yeah I remember that one.” Tuff said nodding.  
Snotlout nodded, “Yeah that one was funny. Can’t imagine Dagur was too happy about Stoic giving the credit to useless.”  
“Unless he knew no one would believe it.” Ruff said.  
“True.” Tuff agreed.  
Astrid rolled her eyes, “Well apparently it was true, Dagur was knocked out.”  
“You’re kidding. There’s no way useless could have done that! Even if those guys were drunk!” Snotlout said, not believing it in anyway.  
“Believe what you want Snotlout, but I don’t think Hiccup was as useless as we thought.” Astrid defended.  
Fishlegs nodded, “Its true, Hiccup had hours of time alone and no ever knew what he did.”  
“Pff! If he wasn’t useless then why did his ‘inventions’ always blow up in his face?” Snotlout asked.  
“I’m not claiming to know everything he did or why, I’m just trying to come up with a reasonable answer for some of them.” Fishlegs answered.  
Tuffnut tapped his chin, “Well, I for one want to see this ‘storage room full of awesome deadly weapons’ in the chief’s house.”  
“Yeah! If you want me to believe any of this I need proof.” Snotlout said stubbornly.  
Astrid sighed, “Fine, but we’ll need to go when the chief isn’t home. I don’t know how he’ll take to us looking in there.”

Hiccup flew out from under a waterfall, Toothless hot on his trail, “I’m catching up!”  
Hiccup grinned and dove down into the forest bellow, expertly weaving in and out of the trees. Toothless, having been slowed by the denseness of the forest, roared in slight frustration, “Falling behind!” Hiccup shouted back.  
Hiccup looked up and saw a cave in the cliff face. Thinking quickly he shot up and darted into the cave. Toothless had seen him leave the forest and quickly followed but his brother had a good head start in this game of tag. The cave was dark and Toothless let out a screech which bounced back to him and saw a small flutter of wings in the deeper part of the cave, “I’ve got you now brother!”  
Hiccup watched Toothless fly by him quickly. Quietly leaping down from the stalactite he had been hiding on he flew out of the cave and into the air, now letting out a full laugh. “Got you Toothless.”  
Toothless arrived in the cavern were he had sensed the movement and looked around, “You can’t hide from me Hiccup.”  
He let out another Echo-location screech and turned his head to the right were the fluttering had just died down again. Toothless grinned and flapped once to the spot…only to find one of the Tiny Wings there, “What?!” Toothless cried.  
The Tiny Wing looked up at him with a slight smirk, “The Halfling said you’d be coming. Now if you don’t mind I’d like to go back to sleep.”  
“Hiccup!” Toothless roared. His brother had tricked him! Granted that in itself was rather impressive but still! He flew out of the cave and back to the base as fast as his wings could carry him and saw Hiccup lazing on the ground with a slight smirk on his face as he basked in the sun.  
“Took you long enough you lazy reptile.” Hiccup said coolly.  
Toothless wacked him on the head with his tail, “This was supposed to be tag, not hide ‘n seek.”  
Hiccup grinned as he scratched him on the head, “I like to think of it as the element of surprise.”  
Toothless grumbled something before he pounced on Hiccup, “Element of surprise!”  
“You-!” Hiccup laughed before Toothless started giving him a bath, “Ah gross!”  
“Consider it payback.”  
“Oh come on! I train and come up with something new and you don’t like it!” Hiccup huffed.  
SilverClaw flew over with a slight chuckle, “I think it’s because it hurts his Night Fury pride, knowing a Halfling beat him.”  
“No it wasn’t SilverClaw.” Toothless hissed.  
Hiccup lightly slapped one of his ear plates, “You know, I think he’s right.”  
Toothless gaped, “He is not!”  
“Sure bud, sure.”  
Toothless put on a pout and turned away from Hiccup as he laughed. He looked at the sea for a minute before a dot on the horizon caught his attention, “Hiccup.”  
Hiccup turned suddenly, becoming uneasy by the tone of Toothless’ voice, “What is it?”  
“Out there, there’s some kind of ship.”  
Hiccup frowned and ran inside to grab a spyglass before flapping his wings to carry him to the cliff edge faster. “It’s a ship alright but I’ve never seen anything like it, or any of its markings.”  
SilverClaw alighted on the ground, growling, “It’s probably Dragon Hunters.”  
Toothless’ head shot up and a look of worry crossed Hiccup’s eyes, “Dragon Hunters?”  
Silver nodded, “Yes. They typically don’t come to this island except for the occasional resting stop…but their no good.”  
Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other before Toothless asked, “What do they do with the dragons they catch?”  
“It’s hard to say. Many, most, aren’t seen again. Though some are sold, others are used as slaves, but most of them are killed.” Silver hissed.  
“They just kill you? When you’re not even attacking them?” Hiccup asked.  
“Yes. Mostly for our skins.”  
Hiccup growled as his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. At least his village had a reason for killing them! Even in Dragon Training, it wasn’t just to kill them for their skins! Toothless noticed his brother’s dangerous look, “Hiccup…”  
“We’re going out there.” He growled.  
“But what if they’re the ones who-”  
“Then it’s all the more reason to put an end to this.” Hiccup turned and ran into the lone building, returning minutes later with his old vest on and covering his wings and helmet.  
“Hiccup are you sure-”  
“Toothless, this has gone on long enough. Someone need to put an end to it.” Toothless nodded as Hiccup climbed onto his back and they flew out in an intercept course for the ship.

A man stood on the Portside of the vessel and called out, “Dragon!”  
The ship came alive as the men scrambled to prepare for their catch. However, they were surprised when the dragon not only came straight for them it also dove down to meet them. “Fire!” The captain of the ship shouted.  
The dragon however did not fall. Instead it beautifully dodged all nets and arrows but it did land on the ship with a heavy ‘thump!’ The men stared at it with wide eye, and the person on its back. The captain came forward and smiled cruelly, “Decided to give yourselves up nice and easy eh?”  
The person of the dragons back turned to him. He wore a mask that resembled the dragon he was riding, the only thing that showed through the mask was the parson’s glaring, forest green eyes. He spoke suddenly, “You will release all dragons you have in your hold.”  
They all jumped slightly from the authority and youthfulness of the voice. “And if we don’t?” The captain asked, a sly grin forming on his face, “That is a beautiful dragon you have there. Wonder what it would go for on the markets?”  
“Well you’re not going to find out. Last chance before we resort to force.”  
“We? There’s no one ‘ere but you and yer dragon, boy.” He spat out the last word, “And it looks to me like you’re outnumbered. So, care to tell me your name before we end your miserable life?”  
He swore he could almost see the person smirk, “It’s Rider, Night Rider.”  
Before any of the men could react the person had swiftly drawn a blade and attacked, his dragon likewise. Two men fell easily by his hand though they could tell they were not fatally wounded they were defiantly not going to be aroused anytime soon. The captain let out a furious yell and charged the person. He met him head on, blades clashing against each other. Rider slashed then parried with unbelievable ease, making it look like he was in a kind of dance. But this only infuriated the captain more, leading him to slip and Rider to leave a deep gash on his arm before knocking him unconscious also.  
He turned to Toothless to see him finishing up with the last of the Hunters. “Come on. The sooner we’re out of here the better.”  
“Agreed.”  
They ran down into the hold and saw at least a dozen dragons in chains and in cells. They hissed and a SpikeTail growled, “Another filthy human, when I get out of here I’ll rip you all apart.”  
Hiccup’s eyes widened behind his mask, “Whoa! I’m on your side.”  
The SpikeTail suddenly stopped growling, “You, you can understand me?”  
“Yes, but we should talk about that later.” Hiccup grabbed the keys hanging on the wall and started unlocking the cells. Once the last one was opened Hiccup turned and asked, “Are there any others on board?”  
“No, it was just us.” A different dragon that Hiccup couldn’t recognize said.  
“Good, then let’s get out of here and cripple this ship.”  
“I couldn’t agree more.” The SpikeTail chirped.  
Hiccup mounted Toothless and they quickly exited the hold as the men started to wake. The captain was the first to regain his composure and saw the dragons fleeing, “This will not be the end, do you understand Rider!”  
Toothless turned and fired a plasma blast the ship, the other dragons following until the ship was nothing but bits and pieces of drifting wood. The men were grabbing them as flotation devices. Hiccup turned his head to the former captain, “Yes, it is.” Turning to Toothless he whispered, “Let’s go home bud.”  
They flew back to the island with the other dragons in tow and once they landed they began asking questions, the SpikeTail chiefly among them, “Who are you?”  
Hiccup removed his helmet, “My name’s Hiccup. Yours?”  
The SpikeTail looked at him cautiously, “Swiftwind.”  
The SilverSlicer took a step closer and sniffed him, “He smells of a dragon.”  
Swiftwind looked at her dumbly, “Of course he does, can you not see the Night Fury right there next to him.”  
She shook her head, “No, he smells like a dragon, not like he’s been around one. My name’s Steelclasp by the way.”  
Toothless came closer, “And I’m Toothless.”  
SilverClaw came over and Swiftwind looked slightly amused, “What is this Tinywing doing here?”  
Hiccup butted in, “This is his island, I think he has a right to know who all is here.” Hiccup turned his attention back to the group of new dragons, “If SilverClaw doesn’t mind you can stay here if you like.”  
Silver nodded, “So long as they stay out of my cave.”  
“Your cave?” Hiccup asked, “You’re in my house half the time!”  
“It’s warm, and quite nice.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “Well anyway, you can stay or go your own way. It’s your choice.”  
“Why would you risk your life like that only to release us?” Steelclasp asked.  
“Because dragons are thinking feeling creatures, you don’t deserve to be killed for no reason.”  
“Why do you care though?” Swiftwind asked.  
Toothless huffed and answered, “Because he hates Dragon Hunters just as much as you do.”  
“What?” The dragons asked.  
Hiccup went to answer before he stopped, “Maybe it would just be easier to show them.” He mumbled before he removed the outer layer of his vest to show his wings.  
“By the-he’s a Halfling!” A Flamewing cried.  
“I told you so!” Steelclasp roared happily.  
Hiccup laughed, “Yeah, I’m a Halfling. I hope that eliminates any fear on that part.”  
He nodded, “You really don’t mind us staying on your island?”  
“Nah, not a bit.” Hiccup smiled.  
Swiftwind looked around before nodding, “Then I would like to stay here as the Hunters have overrun my home.”  
The other dragons agreed also and Hiccup grinned, “Then welcome home.”  
Toothless glared at Hiccup, “Alright, alright, now get over here, you smell terrible.”  
Hiccup’s eyes widened, “Oh no you-no! No!” He ran a few feet before he quickly flew into the air, Toothless quickly following him, “I will get my own bath you overgrown cat!” Hiccup shouted.  
“Wimp!” Toothless shouted back.  
The new dragons just watched, slightly confused as well as amused. Swiftwind turned to SilverClaw, “Are they always this way?”  
Silver just sighed, “You don’t know the half of it.”

Astrid and the others snuck into Stoic’s house, he was busy with his chiefly duties so it was the perfect time. Fishlegs lit a torch and Astrid led them to the storage room and opened the door, “See.”  
Snotlout gapped, “Th-there’s no way Hiccup made all this.”  
Fishlegs bent down and lifted a kite-shield, “This doesn’t look like something Gobber would made. Actually this looks like some of the weapons we saw in that weapons book back when we were kids. You remember Astrid?”  
“Yeah, now that you mention it I do.” She said as she tested out the Katanas.  
Snotlout walked over, “Hey, isn’t that the sword that Dagur told us about?”  
“You mean the one that he took out a dozen Outcasts with?” Tuffnut asked, “Yeah, I think it is.”  
Fishlegs took on of them while Astrid kept the other one, “Look at this metal, defiantly not iron ore. Looks like some kind of hardened steel.”  
Snotlout just scoffed again, “It’s probably just Gobber’s work.”  
Astrid and Fishlegs glared as Astrid answered, “Gobber wouldn’t create weapons like this. Besides, he’s always busy repairing and making new weapons for the armory, why would he make ones like this.”  
Tuff took the Katana from Fishlegs, “Eh, not heavy enough.”  
“Yeah, defiantly not meant for bashing someone.” Ruff added.  
Astrid nodded slowly, “It is incredibly light, probably wouldn’t last long in battle.”  
“While it doesn’t have the brute force it’s defiantly made for slashing.” Fishlegs began, “Look at the way the blade curves slightly, that would leave a pretty nasty gash.”  
Snotlout stood in the doorway silently, he didn’t want to believe that his useless cousin had actually made all of this but at the same time it was the only thing that made sense. He sighed and walked out of the house muttering to himself, the others followed shortly after.

Night had fallen over Berk and the chief walked into his depressingly still home. He sighed loudly as he poked the fire back to life, watching the flames dance on the wood. His eyes wandered over to the storage room door, now knowing of the great treasures it held within. Shaking his head Stoic stood and entered the room, his torch casting shadows on the walls. He wandered around a bit, inspecting the weapons as he did until he came upon one in particular. He took it off its place on the wall and swung it a few times experimentally. It was perfect, the weight and balance. Unlike all of the weapons of Berk, most of these were made out of a hardened steel, this one was no exception. Stoic gave it a few more test swings before he hummed in satisfaction. He returned the blade to its sheath and took his own sword off his belt, replacing it with the Katzbalger.


	9. Chapter 9

The adjustment of the new dragons had gone fairly smoothly, within a week they had all found their own caves and were quite enjoying life. They all had to admit though-it was strange, no, weird seeing both a Halfling and a Night Fury in one place though as both were very rare. Hiccup zipped past Swiftwind’s cave, startling him from his nap as Toothless also shot past a moment later, followed shortly by Steelclasp and Firestorm, a Flamewing. Swift’ looked out of the cave to see them all playing tag, apparently having ganged up on Hiccup as he desperately flew to keep ahead. Swiftwind chuckled at the sight before Hiccup suddenly shot towards him then hid, “Hide me!” Hiccup cried in a hoarse whisper.  
“Not on your life.” Swift grumbled, “I’m not tangling with that brother of yours.”  
Toothless landed looking straight at Hiccup, “Get out here Hiccup.”  
“No! Steelclasp has done nothing but treat me like a hatchling and now Firestorm is also! I’m not a hatchling!”  
Swiftwind looked down at Hiccup amused, “And yet you hide behind me?”  
“Yes? You don’t keep trying to coddle me.” Hiccup mumbled.  
Toothless pouted, “I’ll make sure they don’t. Come on, I want to go flying!” He finished, begging.  
Hiccup looked skeptical before stepping out from behind Swiftwind, “No tricks?”  
Toothless looked hurt, “When would I ever do that?”  
“You know…on second thought-” He didn’t get to finish before Steelclasp stuck her head in the cave.  
“Is he coming out yet?”   
Hiccup glared at Toothless, “Really? Conspiring with the enemy?”  
“She isn’t my enemy.” Toothless smiled.  
Firestorm suddenly burst into the cave, “There’s a ship!”  
“What? Where?” Hiccup asked, his smile falling.  
They all flew out of the cave and to a sea stack not too far from the island, “Out there.”  
Hiccup grabbed his spyglass from his belt and looked out, “It looks nearly identical to the one you guys were on…how many of them are there?”  
Swiftwind bowed his head sorrowfully, “Too many, an entire operation.”  
“What?!” Hiccup asked wide eyed.  
“Did you not know?”  
“I-I thought it was only a few. One here or there…are they all united?”  
Firestorm nodded, “Yes, most are. There are a few independents but most follow one named Riggo, or is it Viker? I don’t remember, I only heard the name once. Either way, I fear that you’ve entered into a war.”  
Hiccup’s eyes hardened into draconic slights, “So much for mom trying to keep me out of a war…”  
“Hiccup…” Toothless said cautiously.  
“We’re heading out. Or at least I am, you can stay if you want.” Hiccup said to the other dragons as he turned and flew back to the island to don his armor. Toothless flew beside him, “Don’t try and stop me Toothless, I have to rescue whatever dragons might be on board.”  
Toothless didn’t say anything for a moment then, “Mom and dad should have known that you’d find trouble no matter where you were.”  
Hiccup smiled as he landed and ran inside. Coming back out a moment later in his black armor they took off the sky. They were alone for several minutes when the other dragons came up beside them. Swiftwind warbled, “We can’t let you two have all the fun.”  
“Thanks.” Hiccup sighed, “Alright, here’s the plan…”

A man paced nervously on the deck of a ship as another stood to the side, silently observing the skies. “Are ya sure that this, Night Rider, will show?”  
The pacing man glared, “He attacked my ship and then destroyed it! He better show.”  
The other man sighed, shaking his head as he mumbled quietly, “A man riding a dragon, how much more crazy can he get?”  
“He’s probably just dreamin’ him up. Sounds like a dragon knocked him over the head, hard.” A ship hand agreed.  
The pacing man turned angrily, “I didn’t dream him up you-”  
He was cut off by a shout, “Dragons from the northwest!”  
The first man smiled, “‘Ere he comes.”  
The second man turned and began shouting, “Man your stations, I want those dragons!”  
The dragons came just out of range and a figure from the lead dragon shouted, “Release your dragons!”  
“You weren’t kidding.”  
“Why would I kid about something like that Riker!? I do value my life!”  
Ryker looked back up at the dragon and rider, “That’s a nice dragon you got there, almost looks like a Night Fury.”  
“I will not ask again, release your dragons.” The figure called again.  
Ryker smirked, “Then come and get ‘em.”  
Suddenly dragons broke through the clouds behind them, lighting their internal fires. Rider and his dragon dove down to the ship, releasing a plasma blast as they arched by and just missing Ryker. They swiftly flew into the lower hold before anyone could really see what happened. A few growls came from behind bars and Rider dismounted and grabbed the hanging keys. “What is this human doing?”  
Rider sighed as he opened the cages, “I’ll explain later, just don’t kill me. Get out then follow the Flame Wing, she’ll show you to somewhere safe.”  
The last cage was quickly unlocked when a heavy thump was heard behind them. “Tryin’ to steal our dragons, hm?” The man Rider had spoken to previously asked, though he didn’t appear to be completely upset.  
Rider didn’t answer but glared, his eyes taking on their dragonic forms as he growled but said nothing. Ryker drew his sword and Toothless growled. Rider stepped in front of him, “Get the others out, I’ll be fine.”  
“He’s a trained Hunter, Hiccup, you-”  
Ryker charged and Hiccup sidestepped, “Go!” He yelled as his sword was drawn.  
Toothless roared at Ryker but was stopped from helping as the captive dragons ran out, inevitably taking him with them. Daylight greeted him as Firestorm called, “Follow me!”  
Now that he was finally alone the entire ship noticed him, and he them, “Really?”

Hiccup twisted away from another attack from Ryker as they began circling one another again, “Yer not gonna win this boy.”  
“My name’s Night Rider.” Rider growled.  
“I could care less if ya were the Emperor’s son.” Ryker charged and Rider parried again before lashing out. Ryker went to sidestep but his feet got entangled with some of the chain that had been holding the dragons captive and hit the floor, sword clattered to the floor--too far out of reach.  
Rider turned and ran for the exit while his enemy was down, failing to notice his mistake. Ryker growled venomously as he reached up the nearby wall, and grabbed the crossbow. He aimed and fired within seconds of each other, the arrow whistling through the air. It found its mark between the armor with a painful scream as Rider fell to the ground, clutching his injured arm as it began bleeding. Ryker stood with a laugh as Rider’s head snapped towards him, his eyes widening. He suddenly got up and ran again and pulled out the arrow, the wound which had only been bleeding a little now began to profuse in flow, Ryker also giving chase.  
Rider made it to the door and slammed it shut while quickly bolting it and running on deck, Ryker’s furious yells being muffled by the wood and his own blood. He staggered on deck, the light blinding him momentarily as he heard a familiar roar and saw Toothless on the ground, being pinned by a half-dozen men. A laugh was heard from his side and the captain from the previous ship stood there, “Yer other dragons left ya boy.”  
Rider snarled, he had told them to leave after they freed the other dragons, “Let Toothless go.”  
“Yer dragon? Why would I do that?” His eyes narrowed for a moment before he grinned even further, “Especially when yer wounded.”  
A man charged Rider and he brought up his shield, before he drew his sword again but let out a hiss of pain as it spiked from the arrow wound. He held off the attacker but quickly started losing ground, he fell onto a knee as he struggled to keep the sword above his head from impaling him. A grunt left him as the Hunter pressed harder and he felt his blood trickling out from the wound and down his body and armor. Spots started to dance on his vision when Toothless roared in pure anger, managing to throw his captors off before firing a last plasma blast and his brother’s attacker.  
“Hurry!” Toothless roared.  
Rider picked himself up, with difficulty, and staggered to were Toothless met him and took off from the ship. A crack was heard from below as a now familiar voice shouted, “RIDER!”  
He turned to see Ryker and something blurry in his hand before Toothless roared, “Ah, Hiccup!”  
They fell quickly, Toothless struggling to stay in the air, before more wingbeats were heard and they suddenly lifted. Hiccup looked down to see Swiftwind and Firestorm flying them to safety. He grunted as he laid his head on Toothless, his mind foggy as he tried to stay awake and alert.  
The flight to the island took too long. They landed and Hiccup all but fell off of Toothless, “Hiccup!”  
He removed his helmet with his right hand as his left could only lay useless on the ground, “Bud, I-I’m sorry.”  
“Sh-just, get your, armor off.” Toothless warbled tiredly and worriedly.  
It was a struggle but with Swiftwind’s help he managed to remove the armor from his injured arm, “I should have thought more, before I just lead us in there.” Hiccup apologized, eyes beginning to droop closed.  
“Hiccup! Stay awake.” Toothless warbled as he clawed closer to his brother who continued to lie still, “You reckless Halfling wake UP!”  
Hiccup jolted slightly at his brother’s roar before he smiled weakly and Toothless started licking the wound, healing it faster. “Thanks bud.”  
Toothless nuzzled him before his eyes closed and he fell asleep, Hiccup following instantly after. Firestorm looked at the pair worriedly, “Are they going to be alright?”  
Swiftwind sniffed the two before he nodded, “I believe so. They both were hit by Dragon Root and Hiccup lost a lot of blood but they should be fine. Hiccup will need to stay down for a while though until he can replenish it.”  
Steelclasp looked at him curiously, “How do you know all that?”  
“In my old pack, before the Hunters came, I often cared for the injured.” Swiftwind sighed.  
Steelclasp gently lifted Hiccup onto a wing before transporting him inside. “I’ll stay with Hiccup in case he wakes up.”  
Swift nodded, “I will be here with Toothless, Firestorm, please get them something to eat for when they wake up.” She nodded and flew off.

His mind was fuzzy as he awoke to a dark room, “Wha-?” He went to sit up but found a weight on his chest, looking down he saw SilverClaw, “Gah! SilverClaw!”  
Silver looked at his excitedly, “Your awake! I must tell Toothless!” He hopped off Hiccup’s chest before he turned back around and stuck his snout in his face, “Stay put and don’t, move.”  
The little dragon scurried out and Hiccup just watched his him slightly confused. Groaning a bit he sat up more into a sitting position and moved his left arm a little more, it was still very sore but didn’t feel open like before. Before he could do anything else Toothless barged in, “Hiccup!”  
“Hey bud.” He smiled, “I guess I fell asleep huh?”  
Toothless gave him a deadpanned look, “How are you feeling?”  
“Fine.” Hiccup said as he swung his feet around.  
Toothless glared and stopped him, “No, you lost a lot of blood. You’re staying in bed until Swiftwind says you can get up.”  
“What? No! Come on bud.”  
“This is all on you Hiccup, so you’re not going anywhere. Not to mention your mom and my parents would kill me if they saw you now.”  
“But-” Toothless just gave him a look, “I guess you’re right…Toothless I-”  
“Don’t you dare apologies again. We’ve been over this.”  
Hiccup hung his head, “Yeah, I know. I’ll be more careful next time. Promise.”  
Toothless nodded, “Good. Now hurry up and get better so we can go flying again!”


	10. Chapter 10

The healing process went by quickly with Toothless’ help, though they did have a little trouble keeping Hiccup in bed. But he was soon up and out flying again. He and Toothless were currently on a patrol flight around the island, its population having grown by a few again. Hiccup breathed in the air and sighed, “It feels good to be out again.”  
“Mhm, flying without you was really boring.”  
“Yeah, well sitting in bed all day wasn’t any fun either.” Hiccup playfully bumped into Toothless.  
“Well, this patrol is clear.” Toothless turned towards the island, “Come on.”  
“Come on bud, let’s just fly for a bit…there’s been something I’ve been wanting to try for a while now.”  
Toothless looked at Hiccup cautiously, “If you need me for it, it can’t be good.”  
Hiccup flew over and seated himself on top of his brother and hooked in, “It’s nothing bad, I promise. I’ve just been wondering how fast we can go if we work together instead of racing each other.”  
“And you propose to do this how?”  
Toothless felt Hiccup press against him more to eliminate as much air resistance as possible. “If we can get our wingbeats in sync then it shout push twice as much air…like a Quadwing.”  
“Hiccup you’re insane. Let’s do this!”  
Hiccup latched onto Toothless and spread his wings again, waiting for the moment Toothless went to beat down and followed. They fell into sync quickly, all the years before of them reading each other greatly helping in the feat. They shot towards the island at an incredible speed, far faster than either had gone before. The wind got behind them and they began to go faster and Hiccup smirked under his mask, “Toothless, go up!”  
He adjusted and they pushed upwards into the crosswinds and gained even more speed, “This is amazing!” Hiccup yelled to his brother as they kept sync.  
Toothless gave a gummy grin of excitement, even though Hiccup couldn’t see it, before he dove and they both collapsed their wings-plummeting. “Wait for it…”  
“Wait for it…” Hiccup added a few seconds later.  
“Now!” They both cried and spread their wings, spraying water and shooting around the island. Scaring a few Tinywings. Zipping past the flatland Hiccup had his home on they flew out to the sea again though at a slower speed. Hiccup sat up and threw a fist in the air, “YEAH! Ha-ha, bud that was awesome!”  
Toothless gurgled a laugh before dipping into the water, “Now that was funny.”  
“I said awesome not funny.” Hiccup deadpanned now dripping wet and glaring.  
Toothless shrugged, “Same difference.”  
Hiccup unlatched and flew up again, “Mhm, sure. I’ll remember that.”  
Toothless glared, “You better be careful Halfling.”  
“When am I not?” Hiccup asked with childlike innocence.  
Toothless gave a flat look, “How about two weeks ago.”  
“Besides that one.” Hiccup pouted.  
“Alright, how about that time at the forge with Gobber while you were fixing part of a catapult?”  
“Gobber said he’d checked the wheel!”  
“Then there was that time when I was teaching you how to fly and you flew into the cove cliff…”  
“You didn’t teach me how to turn at that point!”  
“Oh sure blame it on me-I see how this will be. Put it all on the poor, defenseless dragon.”  
“You are far from helpless or poor.” Hiccup shot back.  
Toothless shot a small plasma blast at him which Hiccup rolled out of the way effortlessly. Hiccup smirked and crossed right in front of Toothless making him veer sharply and causing him to falter and fall before catching himself.

Reena looked up from her place on the grass. Toothless and Hiccup were weaving in and out of the clouds, sometimes Toothless chasing Hiccup and sometimes Hiccup chasing Toothless and other times both were simply just doing tricks. She watched them curiously before turning to Swiftwind, “It is hard to believe that the stories are more than just stories and myths.”  
Swiftwind hummed and nodded, “Yes, I thought the same when I first saw them also.”  
Another Rock Tail named Rockslide came over, “How are there still Shadow Fighters around?”  
Swiftwind paused his preening, “We never knew if they truly had been wiped out. All the legends say are that they disappeared back into the shadows to continue the war.”  
“That’s just it! What war!?” Rockslide asked, “They just leave us to the Hunters and Slayers while they fly off to never to be heard of again.”  
Swift growled, “You would do well to remember who it was that freed you from the Hunters and nearly died doing so.”  
“So they perform a few kind acts. Just wait, that Fighter and Halfling disappear just like the rest of their kind did.”  
Now it was Steelclasp who snarled, “Toothless is but a youngling as is Hiccup. Their parents war is not their own, they fell into this one by accident.”  
“It doesn’t matter! They’ll soon get bored and leave.” Rockslide growled and laid down, looking at the ground.  
Firestorm, being the youngest of the dragons present, let her curiosity get to her first, “What happened? Why do you distain them so much?”  
He sighed heavily, “You wouldn’t remember, it was a long time ago.”  
Steelclasp stepped closer, “She may not but we were younglings when both still roamed this world.” She finished gesturing to Swiftwind.  
“Fine. When I was a youngling, just past Hatchling, a large company of Hunters attacked the island were we and many other dragons were roosting. I was caught and a Shadow Fighter freed me and it and a Fyrest fought off the rest of the Hunters. I was so grateful, I still remember his face to this day, I always thought they’d be there to protect us-they always had been before. Then a few years later more Hunters jumped us when we were resting one night but no one came to help. My parents were killed in front of me and I barely escaped. I searched for the Shadow Fighters and Fyrests for years after but never found them, nor had anyone else seen them since about the time that they rescued my family.” He looked the others in the eyes, “They abandoned us. They were supposed to be the fighters and our protectors in this war but they failed. And now these two march in and act as if it never happened.”  
Swiftwind looked at Steelclasp before he sighed, “They don’t know about it.”  
“What?” Rockslide asked, “How could they possibly not!?”  
“Hiccup grew up in a Viking village far up north as did Toothless…well not in the village, they’d kill him, but in its forests. And I don’t think their parents ever told them of the war.”  
“Why wouldn’t they?”  
“Hiccup’s mother, from what I understand, is a Fyrest. She ran away when he was a Hatchling to keep him out of the war and sent Toothless to protect him.”  
“What about her duty to protect us!”  
“That was the Shadow Fighter’s responsibility, the Fyrest’s responsibilities were to the humans.”  
“Look how well that turned out.”  
Swift rumbled, his tail spikes opening a bit in frustration, “Have you not heard of what happened to the Fyrest’s because their own kind, the Fyrest’s themselves, turned on each other? Because they disregarded their responsibility?”  
“I’ve heard. Doesn’t excuse the Fighter’s though.”  
“You are free to leave at any time.” Swift growled turning around to leave.  
Rockslide suddenly asked in a hushed whisper, “Why do you think the Shadow Fighters left?”  
Swiftwind stopped and looked back at Rockslide then up at Hiccup and Toothless playing in the sky, “I don’t know. I don’t think they will know either.”

Hiccup landed on the grassy field, Toothless next to him, and flopped on the grass. Toothless warbled and got a mischievous glint to his eye and before Hiccup could speak he had plopped his head and forepaws on Hiccup, “Toothless!”  
He only laughed as Hiccup struggled to get out from under him but failed every time. “Stuck?”  
Hiccup half-heartedly glared at a specific dragon, “Yes, yes I am. You gonna help me?”  
“Hm…let me sleep on it.” Toothless answered closing his eyes.  
“Get off me you overgrown reptile!” Hiccup shouted again.  
“Why? You make an excellent pillow.”  
“Come on bud.” Hiccup whined, “You know I don’t like to be pinned! How would you like it if I pinned you?”  
“You can’t.” Toothless deadpanned.  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, “Hypothetically.”  
“You still can’t.” Toothless smiled.  
Hiccup groaned and stopped his struggles, laying in the grass. They laid like that for another minute before Toothless got bored and stood up. Hiccup jumped up from the spot and flapped a few feet away while glaring at his brother. He stood there for a moment before inspecting his armor and went wide eyed, “Oh that’s not good.”  
Toothless turned worriedly, “What’s wrong?”  
“The armor, it doesn’t stand up well to such high speeds. It’s already separating at the stitching line a bit.” Hiccup explained as he pointed to several spots where stitch lines had begun to grow loose and a few threads also snapping.  
Toothless watched as Hiccup walked towards his house mumbling to himself about different ways to overlap armor. Toothless shook his head exasperatedly before torching the ground and curling up for a nap. Steelclasp walked over, slightly troubled, “Is Hiccup alright?”  
“He’s fine. Just gone into his inventing mode.”  
“Inventing mode?”  
Toothless snickered, “Ye-up, that’s the last of Hiccup well see for a while.”  
“Will he be alright?” Steelclasp suddenly asked in slight worry.  
“He’ll be fine…as long as I sit on him to make sure he sleeps.” Toothless shivered before saying lowly and slightly fearful, “A tired Halfling is a horrifying Halfling.”  
“But I have seen him tired before and it wasn’t bad.” She said confused.  
“Sure, for the first few days.” Toothless shook his head, “His island has this strangest tradition called the Midnight Sun-don’t ask me who the heck started it or why-but during the time that the sun doesn’t set at the turn of winter to spring no one is allowed to sleep. It goes on for two weeks-two weeks of Vikings who are completely cranky and insane!”  
“That-does not sound pleasant.” Steelclasp grimaced.  
Toothless snorted, “It isn’t. I was never in the village during it but we could hear it all the way up in our cave. Oh and Hiccup…I think he might possibly have been the worst.”  
“Why? He seems to handle not sleeping well so long as he’s in the sun enough.”  
Toothless rolled his eyes and laid his head on the ground, “Yeah, he gets that from his dragon half-it’s what allowed him to be almost non-affected the longest…but when he passes the brink. The White King help us all.” Toothless paused before elaborating, “He doesn’t necessarily loose his mind like many in his village did, never really hallucinated or anything like that. But he became so rash, never took a second to think about anything…he almost told his father about his wings one time. And then as if that wasn’t bad enough, he goes from not thinking anything through to overthinking and overcomplicating every little thing. Do you know just how frustrating that is?”  
Toothless buried his head in his paws. “After the tenth day we couldn’t take it anymore and mom quite literally sat on him until he got a decent amount of sleep.”  
Steelclasp’s eyes widened slightly in fear, “And they do this every year?”  
“Yes. After the second year of we didn’t let him participate anymore passed the first week. Dad would all but kidnap him every other nigh so he could sleep.”  
“What did his actual father do when he realized Hiccup was missing?”  
“He never did.” Toothless snickered, “He was always too busy trying to keep the others from killing each other that as long as Hiccup wasn’t burning down the village or getting himself killed, he really didn’t have time to watch him.”  
“Humans, always so crazy.”  
Toothless huffed in agreement before he jumped, “Toothless!”  
“Hiccup, are you ok?” Toothless warbled, hurriedly sticking his snout in the house.  
Hiccup smiled, “Yeah. Just need you to light the forge.”  
Toothless looked at Hiccup suspiciously, “I thought you were just fixing the armor?”  
“I got an idea.” He grinned stupidly.  
Toothless rolled his eyes as he breathed life into the forge, “I don’t even want to know.” He grumbled before clambering up to the higher portion of the house and fell asleep to Hiccup’s mumblings and hammering.

Hiccup inspected the leather by the light of the glowing forge and rising sun before putting a piece on and testing its rang of movement. He nodded in satisfaction before setting the leather down and took another piece and tested it. Toothless came down and frowned at Hiccup, “You didn’t go to sleep last night.”  
Hiccup shrugged, “Yeah. So? I’ll be fine.”  
Toothless snorted, “If you start hallucinating trolls up again I’m gonna sit on you.”  
Hiccup hung his head. “One time, one time! And you’re never gonna let me live it down are you?”  
“Nope.” Toothless grinned.  
“I was six!” He protested.  
“Well I need something to torment you with.”  
Hiccup glared, “Yeah. Love ya too.”  
Toothless padded over and sniffed at the leather, “So, what is it?”  
Hiccup held it up, “This is the new armor. I’ve remade the seams and repositioned other parts so that they layer in essence. Hopefully this will keep up with the wind and speed.”  
Toothless let his tongue flop out as he smiled, “Let’s test it!”  
Hiccup slipped the armor on and grabbed the metal lump on the table before they ran outside. They spread their wings and quickly shot into the sky before Hiccup moved over to Toothless and strapped in, “Alright, you ready to try this again?”  
“Always.”  
Hiccup laid as flat as possible as he spread his wings also and they found their beat, the ground and sea below them sped by as a blur. They banked to the left and Hiccup could feel the force pressing him against his brother increase before they shot straight up, both beating in perfect sync. They stopped beating momentarily and fell back through the clouds. Hiccup laughed before Toothless righted himself and they glided.  
Hiccup began inspecting the armor again while on Toothless and seemed satisfied for the moment as he unlatched himself but stayed seated. “Hey, bud.”  
“Yeah?”  
“Practice some?”  
Toothless grinned mischievously, but Hiccup didn’t see it. Before Hiccup could take off, Toothless barrel rolled and sent Hiccup flying. Toothless took a second to laugh as Hiccup glared at him in clear dissatisfaction. “Not cool!”  
“Hey, you wanted to practice.”  
Hiccup’s glare morphed into a grin as he sped to the side and under Toothless, into the clouds. Toothless stopped and hovered for a moment, listening. He didn’t hear anything for a moment which meant Hiccup was no doubt gliding. His sensitive hearing picked up the slightest of sounds to his right and he darted out of the clouds in that direction. Hiccup flew by him a second later, his sword drawn.  
They entered into an aerial battle, both slashing and blocking the other’s attacks. Toothless fired a plasma blast at Hiccup who dodged it before he collapsed his wings and fell into the clouds below, again. Toothless followed and started to echolocate him. It came back sooner than expected and he dodged another one of Hiccup’s attacks and they left the clouds again.  
Toothless fired again and Hiccup dodged only to realize he had been set up, the ball came at him quickly and he had no time to dodge. Hiccup reached down and grabbed the metal attached to thigh before he brought it up in front of him. The shot hit threw Hiccup back as he fought to stay upright. Toothless flew closer to check him. “Are you alright?”  
Hiccup half-heartedly glared, “Yeah no thanks to you.”   
“You’ve had worse.” Toothless snorted playfully before asking, “What is that?”  
Hiccup held up a circular devise, “A shield, what else would it be?”  
He snorted, “I mean, where did you get it? You certainly didn’t have it coming out here.”  
Hiccup smiled, “Yes I did, it just didn’t look like this.” He clicked a button and the shield collapsed into the slightly awkward, elongated lump of metal. Hiccup opened it up again and began inspecting it also, “It seems to be holding up well…a bit too heavy though, I won’t be able to carry it for too long…” He continued to babble on until Toothless nudged him.  
“You just gonna hover there all day or are you going to move?”  
“Sorry bud. We can go back, I wanna change a few things on this anyway…”  
Toothless shook his head as Hiccup flew back at a fast speed, eager to work. Toothless, however, wasn’t in such a hurry and so flew at a leisurely pace. He was about halfway back when a ship caught his attention and growled. Eyes narrowing he sped off towards the island and found Hiccup, “We have a ship on the east side of the island.”  
Hiccup looked up, worried, “Hunters?”  
He shook his head, “I don’t know, didn’t get a good look.”  
“Alright. Swift and Firestorm, stay behind me and Toothless and stay out of sight. Steelclasp and Reena you follow me and Toothless incase things go wrong.”  
“Hiccup…” Toothless cooed.  
He placed a hand on his brother’s head, “I know, I’m going to be more careful.”  
They flew out and Swiftwind and Firestorm flew into the clouds while the rest headed straight for the ship. Hiccup pulled out his spyglass and got a better look at the ship. Toothless waited expectantly for Hiccup’s plan when he felt his tense brother suddenly relax, “Hiccup? Is everything alright?”  
“Everything’s fine bud…it’s only Johan.”  
“The trader that talks too much?”  
Hiccup laughed, “One and the same.”  
“What do you want to do?”  
Hiccup thought about it for a moment before, “Steelclasp, Reena, you guys can head back, tell Swift and Firestorm too. I’ll be back in a while.”  
The two dragons nodded, albeit a little hesitantly, and left before Hiccup and Toothless flew for the ship. They landed quietly with nothing more than a soft thump on the deck and waited for Johan. They heard shuffling underdeck and unintelligible muttering. Toothless cooed nervously, “What do you need from him, he’ll know you Hiccup.”  
Hiccup placed a reassuring hand on Toothless’ side, “I’ll be careful. But I want to know it he has any information on this area.”  
Their conversation was abruptly halted when Johan came on deck. Exiting the lower hold he turned to see a black-clad man, features completely covered, and an equally black dragon. “By the—Please don’t harm me! I am only but a humble trader who travels the seas in search of trade.”  
The man stepped closer and offered a hand, “I mean ya no ‘arm.” Hiccup said in a Scottish accent to further mask who he really was.  
Johan looked at him bewildered as he carefully took the helping hand, “Oh, well then…what can I do for you?”  
Hiccup smiled behind his mask, “I was hopin’ ya would ‘ave some information regarding this area.”  
“Ah, well, I know I have some books but that’s all really.”  
He nodded, “That’ll be good enough.”  
Johan nodded and began searching for the books, “Here they are, I only have two but-”  
“Thank ya.” Hiccup nodded and handed over a few coins he had brought from home and took the books.  
Johan looked curious but for once did not try and tell any of his stories but looked at Hiccup, “Do I know you?”  
He shook his head and mounted the dragon, “No, you could say I’m new to this world.”  
Johan smiled, “Well I am Trader Johan.” He paused for a moment in thought before, “I frequent these waters often, do you plan on staying around?”  
The figure nodded, “Yes.” The dragon turned to fly off.  
“Wait! I don’t even know who you are.” Johan protested.  
He turned, “Night Rider.”  
Johan watched as he disappeared into the clouds and out of sight before he sighed and turned back to his ship. He went to pocket the money and looked at it with a gasp, they were Berkian coins. He looked at the clouds where he had disappeared with confusion, was is possible that he had gone to Berk? His dragon certainly could have gotten him there…Johan shook away the thoughts. It would be a while before he got to Berk, he did have many other stops before there but maybe Stoic would know who this man was.  
 


	11. Chapter 11

The rain hit the roof in a constant flood, Toothless jumped slightly at the peal of thunder. Hiccup smiled and scratched his brother’s soft spot under his neck, “It’s just thunder you know.”  
Toothless snorted and five other Tiny Wings jumped from their spots on the rafters and crowded around Hiccup and Toothless. Toothless grumbled, “I hate lighting.”  
Hiccup frowned, “That was your own fault for flying into a storm.”  
Toothless just huffed before he jumped again at another peal. Hiccup shook his head and continued reading the books he had gotten. One was a botany book, which Hiccup found very useful, and another was charts and maps of the seas, the best places to sail, the deepest parts of the ocean, and so on and so forth. Hiccup didn’t find that one quit as interesting but thought it would be handy to know so stuck with it.  
Another peal resounded and Toothless curled around Hiccup tighter. “You do realize that thunder can’t hurt you?”  
Toothless frowned, looking at the fire, “Yes, but the lightning can.”  
“We’re inside, it won’t get us in here.” Hiccup reassured.  
“All the same.” Toothless muttered before pressing his earflaps back at the thunder again.  
Hiccup sighed and closed his book, folded his wings in and laid down. Toothless gripped him close and laid his wings over them both to provide utter darkness, “Night Toothless.”

The earth was wet and clean the next morning, the sky never portraying that a storm had passed through the previous night. Hiccup spread his wings and took to the sky, relishing in the cooler air. Toothless pulled up next to him, “What do you say about exploring the eastern waters today?”  
His brother huffed in agreement before they shot away. They flew for a few hours without incident, preforming flips and other tricks in the air. The sun was high before they spotted an island far in the distance. “Hiccup.”  
“I see it bud. Let’s check it out.” Hiccup attached to Toothless and they beat their wings in sync, reaching the island in half the time.  
Hiccup eyes turned dragonic as he looked down, Toothless echoing his thoughts, “It’s inhabited. I don’t think we should land.”  
“Why not?” Hiccup asked, crouching low on Toothless’ back.  
“Because if the people saw you-”  
Hiccup cut him off. “So we don’t let see the wings. No biggy, I’ve hidden them enough as a child. Land in the forest.”  
Toothless growled, “I still don’t like it. Remember what happened with the Dragon Hunters?”  
Hiccup shuddered as he wrapped his wings in the leather, “Yeah, it’s kinda hard to forget. I’ll be careful.”  
Toothless snorted then, “I’ll be watching from the forest.”  
“Fair enough.” Hiccup nodded. They circled high in the clouds and saw a village so landed in the forest a fair ways away.  
They walked a good distance when Hiccup received feeling of curiosity, distrust and some anger. He stopped, looking around cautiously. Toothless stopped too, not having separated from him quite yet, and growled, “Did you hear that?”  
“No,” Hiccup braced, hand ready to draw his sword, “But I’m getting some strong feelings.”  
There was a sudden rustle and Toothless roared, “Hiccup!”  
Before he could blink he was on the ground with Toothless on top of him, snarling at, something. There was another rustle and the feelings grew to confusion before he was distracted again by Toothless, who was moving around Hiccup. There was a sudden ‘zing’ through the air and Toothless roared again. Toothless stumbled a bit and shook his head and it was then that Hiccup was finally able to see what had hit him. It was a dart, with a feathered end. “Toothless! Are you-”  
He reached out to remove the dart but Toothless growled, “Hiccup! Don’t, fly away!”  
“I’m not-” Hiccup narrowed in on a source of some of the feelings as another rustle was heard and something sunk into his neck. The world went dark as he faintly heard his brother’s roars of outrage.

Hiccup awoke lying on his side and his head fuzzy. Groaning he sat up, “Toothless? What-happened?”  
When he didn’t receive an immediate answer his eyes shot open. What greeted him, startled him. There was a group of people, men and woman, all dressed in black. He swallowed thickly before a movement at the back of the group caught his attention and the group parted, letting an older man through. Confused Hiccup went to stand to converse but was promptly shoved back down to the ground again and they all bowed. “All hail Mala, Queen Defender of the Wing.”  
Both Mala and Hiccup inspected one another for a moment before Mala spoke, “So, this is the Dragon Hunter your men captured, Throk?”  
Throk nodded, “Yes my queen.”  
“He certainly doesn’t look like a normal Dragon Hunter.”  
Hiccup’s faced scrunched in detest at being called something that would gladly kill him. “I’m not a Hunter.”  
“Do you take me for a fool?” Mala asked, “You were sent by Viggo Grimborn to spy on us and to steal our dragons.”  
“Viggo who? A-and why would I want to steal your dragons?”  
“I do not know why you take and kill dragons but you have been doing it for years. This island offers protection for them from you.”  
Hiccup’s wings twitched under his vest in frustrations. “I have no qualms with dragons. My best friend is a dragon.”  
“So you say, but you shackled him and made him do your bidding.” Mala said with disgust.  
“That’s just a saddle, I ride him when I-he lets me ride him. I’d never force him to do anything!” Hiccup argued.  
“Not anymore, you don’t. Your dragon is now free.”  
Hiccup looked around, “Where is Toothless?”  
Mala’s eyes widened in horror, “You made your dragon toothless!?”  
Now it was Hiccup who’s eyes widened in horror, “What? No! He has retractable teeth. For Thor’s sake his parents named him that!”  
Mala looked at him curiously, “How do you know that?”  
“I-uh…” Hiccup stuttered trying to find something other than ‘I’m half dragon’, “I-I understand dragons.”  
Mala looked down in thought, “Hm, very interesting.”  
“Can I please see Toothless now? He gets really nervous if he doesn’t know where I’m at.” Hiccup asked exasperated.  
“No.” Mala stated firmly. “Your words can easily be false and you have imprisoned your dragon long enough for it to not think for itself.”  
“What?! Look, Toothless can show you himself if-”  
“Enough. If you are a friend of dragons then we will let the dragons decide.”  
He was suddenly picked up and wrists unbound before they started leading him away, a small progression escorting him. “What do you mean by you’ll let the dragons decide?”  
“We are taking you to the Nest. We protect the dragons as they protect us. We accept the judgement of the dragons as they have accepted us.”  
They reached the end of the tunnel and a large cavern opened in front of them. “So if the dragons don’t kill me I get to live?”  
“Yes. Step forward and receive that judgement.”  
Throk pushed him to the edge of the cliff and he looked down. Running around in the space below were several wingless dragons. “Speed Stingers,” Hiccup whispered to himself. They were one of the few dragons who had the same name from both the dragons and Vikings, and they generally were very reclusive. Not liking contact with anyone or thing that wasn’t their own.  
He was then pushed over and fell into the cavern below. He stood and the Speed Stingers circled around, “Look, I’m not here to hurt you or anything-”  
What looked to be the lead Stinger hissed, “They would not have thrown you down here if you hadn’t.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, they just don’t trust me is all. They trust in you guys, so they decided to let you judge me.”  
The leader stopped a second, “You just-answered me.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yes, I can understand dragons.”  
“Impossible. Vikings are unable to learn dragonese.”  
“What is he doing?” Hiccup heard Mala whisper above but tuned out the rest, focusing on the Stinger in front of him.  
The Speed Stinger sniffed the air around him for a moment before he looked at Hiccup wide eyed, “You, you are a Halfling?”  
“Yes.” Hiccup nodded, “I came here exploring with my-”  
A ballistic moan filled the cavern before Hiccup could finish, “HICCUP!”  
“Brother.” Hiccup finished, slightly startled as the black mass dropped in front of him and blocking the Stinger.  
The Speed Stinger took a step back, “A Shadow Fighter is your brother? I thought they had disappeared.”  
Toothless growled, “You better not have hurt him or I’ll-”  
Hiccup stopped him there by placing a hand on his snout and putting himself between his brother and the Speed Stinger, “Toothless, it’s alright. He wasn’t going to do anything.”  
The Speed Stingers took a cautious and curious step forward, inspecting the duo. One of the back ones said finally, “I didn’t know the Shadow Fighters still existed.”  
Hiccup looked at them confused, ignoring the commotion that was erupting from above, “What do you mean, existed still?”  
The Speed Stingers looked at Hiccup confused, “You do not know?” When Hiccup shook his head they looked to Toothless a bit miffed, “Why haven’t you told him?”  
Toothless sat down, no longer feeling threatened, “I’m afraid I know as much as my brother. I haven’t seen any other Night Furies besides my parents.”  
The Stingers looked a bit down trodden at that but then nodded and left, leaving Hiccup and Toothless alone with one another. Hiccup turned to Toothless, “Let’s head back up.”  
“‘Head back up’? Are you crazy? They knock you out then drag you away from me and you’re saying ‘let’s head back up’?!”  
Hiccup nodded, “I don’t think they’re that bad, a bit paranoid but who isn’t with Dragon Hunters? They said they’d trust the judgement of the dragons and I’m still here so they have to let me go. It’ll be fine.”  
“That’s what you said when we came to this Thor forsaken island.” Toothless growled before looking Hiccup in the eyes, “Fine, but if they try anything, and I mean anything I will not hesitate to incinerate them.”  
Hiccup chuckled quietly and nodded, “A bit grouchy are you?”  
He huffed unamused, “They kept giving me something that made my brain fuzzy. I couldn’t think straight to get to you until they started taking away.”  
Hiccup mounted Toothless and they flew back up to the ledge and Hiccup answered casually, “You were felled with a simple piece of food? Toothless…” He said shaking his head playfully.  
Toothless just growled, “Shut Up.”  
The Defenders of the Wing that were gathered all fell silent at Hiccup and Toothless’ arrival. Mala stepped forward, baffled, “The dragons have judged you innocent. But if you betray us in any way I will end you myself.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Fair enough.”  
They walked back out and Mala looked back at Hiccup who was walking beside Toothless, “You know who we are but we do not know yet who you are.”  
Hiccup reddened slightly in a mixture of emotions, “I-uh-am Night Rider.”  
“Strange name. Where are you from, Night Rider?”  
Hiccup frowned for a second before saying, “Dragon’s Edge.”  
“I have never heard of that tribe before.” Mala said in an inquisitive tone.  
“That’s because it’s not a tribe. It’s just an island where a few dragons that we’ve rescued live.” Hiccup answered gesturing to Toothless, “We don’t really have a tribe.”  
Mala entered the town, “Oh, well that is unfortunate.”  
“Not really, they never really cared.” Hiccup said quietly without thinking.  
Toothless huffed and Mala stopped, “So, you do come from a tribe?”  
“Of course, doesn’t everyone? But I left a few months back…they never would have accepted Toothless, I’m not sure how I managed to hide him as long as I did.”  
“A dragon killing tribe I take it?” Mala said in slight disgust but wasn’t angry at Hiccup.  
“Yeah,” Hiccup drawled on the word, “So, what about your village, what’s all this?”  
Mala smiled slightly in pride, “That is the Temple of the Wing. And next to it is our healing center where both man and dragon can be treated.”  
“Toothless said your people were feeding him something earlier?”  
She reached into her pouched and produced a fruit, “We call it Sagefruit. It calms even the most aggressive dragons. Makes them easier to handle.”  
One look at the fruit and Toothless gave an annoyed hiss, turning his head away from everyone, “Dumb fruit.”  
Hiccup smiled lightly at his brother in amusement, “Which explains why Toothless was away for so long.”  
“Yet when you were in danger, he ignored its effects.”  
“Well by that point I was ok,” Hiccup said, more to Toothless than Mala.  
“Fine, next time you get kidnapped I’ll just enjoy a nice nap.” Toothless pouted.  
Mala watched their interaction with interest, “That is very impressive, where did you learn it?”  
“Uh, I’ve just been around dragons for a while.”  
Mala nodded, “You do have a connection with him, Night Rider. I cannot understand it but I cannot deny it.”  
Hiccup shrugged, “Maybe if we took you for a ride?”  
Toothless shook his head and snorted ‘no’ while Mala shook hers, “No. Such a thing is forbidden. And your dragon does not seem to want to either.”  
Hiccup half glared at Toothless, “He’s just stubborn, and a bit grouchy.”  
At that Toothless whacked Hiccup’s head with his tail, “Am not!”  
Mala showed him the rest of the village just before the sun began to set, “You will eat with us?”  
“S-sure.” Hiccup nodded.  
They were headed to their Great Hall of sorts when there was a shout in the village, “Multiple dragons from the east!”  
“Dinner must wait, we have to tend to these dragons first.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Got ya.”  
They were crossing the village to the east side when Hiccup suddenly heard wing beats behind him. Whirling around to see what it was, he came face to snout with a very ticked Rockslide, “Dumb Halfling! You said you would only be gone for a few hours, not a whole day! You had the entire pack worried sick! We thought you might have been captured by Dragon Hunters or something!”  
All Mala heard were some vicious roars of the Gronkle while Hiccup slunk back a bit and Toothless rolled his eyes, agreeing with Rockslide. By the time that Rockslide was done with his little spew the other dragons of the small pack had shown up and circled around Hiccup, Toothless and Mala. “I’m sorry guys, just kinda forgot about the time.”  
Swift snorted, “Halfling, that was very idiotic, and that goes for you too Toothless. You are our pack leaders, you can’t just leave us. You’re lucky that this is a peaceful island and not a Dragon Hunter base.”  
Throk stood a fare distance from the circle of dragons and called out slightly nervous, “Queen Mala, are you alright?”  
Mala, who had been watching the whole exchange which manly consisted of the dragon growling at Night Rider, nodded while calling back, “Yes, they have done no harm.”  
Steelclasp stuck her snout in Hiccup’s abdomen, “Hiccup, are you alright?”  
He nodded, “I’m fine.”  
Toothless snorted, “He’s being Hiccup.”  
“And what does that mean?!” Hiccup cried indignantly, somewhat startling Mala.  
“It means that you nearly got killed and freaked me out only for the situation to have the exact opposite outcome.”  
Hiccup shrugged while Steelclasp glared at Hiccup and started coddling him, “Oh no, please no! Stop! Steelclasp!”  
The aggravation among the dragons died down and they broke apart just a bit, a few going to Mala and inspecting her. Firestorm asked, “Who is she?”  
Hiccup answered strained, as he was trying to push Steelclasp’s snout away to prevent being covered in dragon saliva. “That’s Mala. She’s the leader of the Defenders of the Wing. She’s fine.”  
Mala stepped closer to Firestorm and they began inspecting one another, “Who are these dragons Night Rider?”  
“They’re some dragons that I’ve rescued from Dragon Hunters and who decided to stay with me and Toothless on the Edge.” He finally managed to escape from Steelclasp’s grasp only to be pinned and covered in Toothless’ saliva, “Really?!”  
Toothless lifted his head in a laugh, “You’re my Halfling, need to make that clear.”  
Hiccup growled, “Well find a better way, this is gross.”  
Mala smiled, looking at the dragons who had come for Night Rider, “They can rest here for a while before you leave.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Thanks.”  
They left, though Toothless followed, and had diner and talked. “So, you have not been an enemy of the Dragon Hunter as long as we have.”  
“No,” Hiccup shook his head, “Only just recently, but believe me, I don’t think we’ll ever be anything but that. You mentioned someone named Viggo, who is he?”  
“You have not yet met him?” Mala asked.  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, just a few ship captains and one named Ryker.”  
“Ah, you met his brother then.”  
“That’s his brother? I’d hate to see what this Viggo looks like then.”  
Mala sighed, “Wouldn’t we all. We’ve heard things about him but have never actually seen him, only the Dragon Hunters he has sent.”  
Hiccup nodded, thinking, “What have you heard about this Viggo? Who is he?”  
“Viggo Grimborn is the leader of the Dragon Hunters. Past that little is known. Only that he is a master mind and almost never loses.”  
“When I first met Ryker, he said something about not caring about if I was ‘the son of the Emperor’, do you have any idea what he might have meant by that?”  
Mala looked up while thinking, “It brings nothing to mind other than it sounds like a seat of power, like a king. Maybe they’re from somewhere else?”  
“Yeah,” Hiccup agreed, “He didn’t look like he was from any Viking tribe I knew and he certainly didn’t look like a Wanderer.”  
Hiccup fell quiet, looking down at the half-eaten plate of food in front of him in thought. Mala noticed his silence, “What are you thinking Night Rider?”  
“I’m thinking that this Viggo and his brother aren’t from around here. But probably from some place on the main land.” He looked up at Mala and smiled, “Thank you for the food, I’ll leave with my pack in the morning.”  
Mala was about to reply when a loud shriek from a dragon came from outside and a Defender ran into the room, “Queen Mala, Dragon Hunters, they have already landed!”  
Mala turned to look at Night Rider but he was already halfway out of the room, Toothless right next to him. “Night Rider! Where are you going?!”  
“That shriek was Firestorm’s! I need to help them.”  
Mala nodded, “Defenders, protect the dragons and the Great Protector!”


	12. Chapter 12

Hiccup ran out of the Hall and quickly jumped onto Toothless’ back, taking to the sky and to the disturbance. Most of the Defenders were running to the beach of the west side of the island and as they flew closer a silver flash swept by them until it slowed to reveal Steelclasp, “Steelclasp, what’s going on?”  
“The Hunters landed by surprised and caught Firestorm and Swiftwind. We didn’t-”  
Hiccup put on his mask and looked at the fleet of ships in front of them, “Alright, alright, which ship are they on?”  
“The closest one on the left.”   
Hiccup saw it and nodded, “Where there any other’s taken?”  
Steelclasp nodded, “A few Rocktails, a Speedstinger and a Spiketail.”  
“Ok, Steelclasp, take the others from the pack and help the Defenders defend the village, I’ll-” He was cut off when Toothless swerve out of the way of an incoming arrow.  
They turned and Toothless blasted a catapult as they passed. They flew over a few more times and took out a couple of archer groups before Hiccup saw Mala, “Toothless, land over by Mala!”  
Toothless nodded but didn’t respond otherwise, to focused on trying not to be hit. Hitting the ground rather hand, sand sprayed as Hiccup jumped off of his brother and ran over, “Night Rider, we must protect the dragons!” Mala yelled at him as she fought off two Hunters at once.  
“I know! But we need a plan, they’re going to overrun us at this rate.” A Dragon Hunter approached Mala from behind while she was still distracted by the two in front of her, sword raised for the strike. Faster than what was normally, humanly possible, Hiccup drew his sword and met the Hunter’s head on, deflecting the strike.  
Mala finished her battle with the two Dragon Hunters shortly after and turned to face Hiccup only to find him engaged in his own fight. The Dragon Hunter drew out another sword, a Cinquedea, while his one was still engaged with Hiccup’s. Mala moved to help him when he pulled a medium sized devise off his leg and less than a second later a formed a shield. Effectively blocking the offender’s strike. Hiccup shoved his shield into the Dragon Hunter’s gut while his recently diverted arm was away from his body in a defenseless position. Hiccup knocked out the Hunter and faced Mala. She nodded her thanks, “Impressive swordsmanship, Night Rider.”  
Hiccup shrugged as he turned to scan the Dragon Hunters, “Had a good teacher, but, seriously. We’re gonna lose at this point.”  
Two Hunters were suddenly thrown through the air as a Gronkle, Hiccup recognized it to be Rockslide, barged through them. He stopped at Hiccup and he ran to him, “Halfling, we are losing too many dragons.”  
“I know, I know. I-” He stopped himself short as he looked at Rockslide’s side, “Are you feeling ok?”  
Mala walked quickly over, “What is wrong Night Rider?”  
Hiccup carefully pulled out the arrow and smelled it, Dragon Root permeating it. Hiccup looked at it confused, “Why weren’t you affected?”  
Mala grabbed the arrow, “Dragon Root doesn’t affect Gronkles.”  
“Really?” Hiccup asked, eyes alight.  
Mala nodded, “It never has affected them.”  
He smiled beneath his mask, “Alright, I have a plan.”  
Mala looked around at her struggling forces and nodded, “I’m listening.”

A Dragon Hunter ran across the deck of the lead ship to launch another volley of arrows when the ship suddenly shuddered. He stood up in time to see a Gronkle fire at the ship and the men near jumping away, and some overboard. More Gronkles and Razorwhips attacked the nearby ships until the decks were all but deserted and most of the men were overboard. Other dragons then swarmed the ships and minutes later all dragons flew out from under the deck.  
Out of the lead ship a pitch black dragon with a rider shot out, dragons following them. From the water a man growled, “Night Rider.”

Hiccup and Toothless circled back around after freeing the dragons off the ship. Several of the Hunters that had been thrown overboard where now attacking the Defenders of the Wing, a large group of them had begun to cluster around a group of Defenders. Toothless gathered air in his lungs then shot a large plasma blast at the Hunters, scattering them and giving the edge back to the Defenders.  
Minutes passed and the battle began to wind down, the Dragon Hunters slowly began retreating. Hiccup and Toothless had just fended off another Hunter when Hiccup heard Mala shriek in rage, though it was faint. “Toothless?”  
He had already leapt over, “Let’s go.”  
They flew to where they heard the disturbance and found Mala locked in combat with Ryker, while the other Defenders were protecting some entrance way. Toothless blasted away a few more Hunters and landed with a heavy thump! on another. Mala jumped back from one of Ryker’s strikes and stopped near Hiccup. Ryker looked at the two before giving a half frown, half smile, “Night Rider, fancy meeting you here.”  
Hiccup only growled, eyes taking on their dragonic form. Mala also frowned, “You will not take the Great Protector.”  
Ryker shrugged, “I’ll take any dragon I can get.”  
Toothless growled, a plasma blast building in his throat when Mala suddenly charged Ryker and another Dragon Hunter charged Hiccup. He turned to meet him when Toothless sent him flying with the shot that had been meet for Ryker. He went to help the other Defenders but Mala’s pain scream stopped him and he turned to see Ryker’s bloodied sword and Mala on the ground, her sword lying dangerously near the edge of the cliff.  
“Now we end this!” Ryker growled.  
“NO!” Hiccup shouted.  
Toothless went to fire but came up short, having used them all in battle. The other Defenders of the Wing growled or shouted ‘no!’ Hiccup growled like an enraged dragon, “Ryker if you finish that swing you will not leave this island alive.”  
Ryker’s arm halted and Mala struggled to move, her right leg obviously useless. “Night Rider no! He cannot-uhn!”  
Ryker suddenly picked her up, jostling her injured leg, and grinning sinisterly, “Very well.”  
With that he hurled her over the cliff as more Dragon Hunters charged the group. Without thinking Hiccup ran for the cliff, dodging Ryker’s outstretched hand and leapt. All the Dragon Hunters and Defenders saw him and momentarily paused in shock at the boy’s actions…all but Toothless and the four Hunters attacking him, and slowly losing as they had no Dragon Root so had no chance.  
As Hiccup leapt over the edge he had undone the vest and folded his wings next to him, making him fall faster. He reached Mala, grabbed her, and spread his wings, her feet just brushing the treetops below. He could hear her chocked gasps of shock and he grunted, trying to hold her aloft and beat his wings faster. Her stillness only lasted a few moments before she began to struggle to see what it was who caught her, but her head was pinned between two arms. Hiccup grunted again and managed to say, “For Thor’s sake woman hold still! You’re heavy!”  
Mala scowled, “I’m not heavy!”  
They landed in the clearing, a bit roughly-Mala tumbled as her right leg wouldn’t move and Hiccup fell over his own wings only moments after letting Mala go. He lay there for a half second before Toothless roared and his head snapped up, “Toothless!”  
Quickly getting up Hiccup flew back up to the cliff and what was left of the battle. He saw the last of the Hunters quickly retreating into the brush. “Hiccup! Are you ok? You caught Mala right? How are your wings?”  
Hiccup laughed and pushed his brother’s head away, “I’m alright, so is Mala. Are you ok?”  
Toothless nodded and Hiccup looked at the Defenders, all of whom were just staring at him-especially Throk, whose mouth was open slightly. Hiccup’s eyes finally returned to their normal state and he looked down, both afraid and unsure. Before anyone could do anything more he had quickly turned and flown off, Toothless following him.  
They flew to the clearing where Mala had been left and they landed, Hiccup cautiously approaching her, “Mala?”  
Her head whipped around to Hiccup, “What, what are you Night Rider?”  
He removed him helmet and came closer, his wings twitching in worry, Toothless sitting but ready in an instant to take his brother to safety. “I’m what’s called a Halfling.”  
Mala’s eyes widened, “You’re a dragon!”  
“Half of one, yes.” Hiccup nodded while shrugging. She attempted to stand but grunted and quickly fell again, only for Hiccup to catch her, “We need to get you to a healer, and you can ask more questions later.”  
Toothless came over and Hiccup went to help her on him when she tensed and stopped him, “N-no, it is against the Defender’s code to ride a dragon.”  
Hiccup glared and sighed, “Well as a dragon I’m telling you that you either get on him nicely so we can get you taken care of or I can be a bit harsher and fly you up onto his back.”  
Mala took a second before letting out a heavy, almost pained, sigh, “Alright.”  
“Good.” Hiccup smiled, helping her on before climbing on behind her to help keep her steady.  
It was a quick skip and a hop to the village and, although it looked to be in shambles from the attack, to the healers. Mala leaned on Hiccup, using him as a crutch, as she entered and they took her away. Hiccup sat outside with Toothless as the other Defenders of the Wing made their way back, many going to the healers as well. But as many when in, twice as many remained outside—some began working one repairs while the others remained in a semicircle around the healers hut. Awaiting news on their fellow Defenders and their queen, word spreading quickly that she had been badly hurt.  
Hiccup also sat uncomfortably next to Toothless as the stares seemed to grow. The word of a winged boy having traveled just as fast as their wounded queen had. It lasted until Throk made his way through the crowed and approached Hiccup. He stood quickly and Throk, surprisingly, kneeled to him, “You have my thanks Night Rider. It is my position to protect Mala and I failed.”  
Hiccup half frowned, “There’s no need to thank me, we were all busy with the attack.”  
Throk nodded and stood as a healer came out, “Queen Mala will be fine.”  
There was a collective sigh as Throk asked, “When will she able to come out?”  
“She is not allowed out of bed for the next few days due to the severity of the wound and blood loss.” She paused and turned to Hiccup, “She wants to see you though.”  
Hiccup nodded and started to head in as Toothless burnt the ground next to the building and fell asleep before Throk followed him in. They found Mala next to one of the windows. Seeing them she smiled, “Hiccup, Throk.”  
Hiccup asked, “How do you feel?”  
“I’ve been better but I am alive, I have you to thank for that, Night Rider.”  
“Uh, you’re welcome?” Hiccup half asked and half said.  
Mala nodded and smiled before continuing, “But I must ask-”  
“You want to know about me being half dragon, right?” Hiccup finished.  
Both Mala and Throk nodded, Mala answering, “Yes, that would insightful.”  
Hiccup took a heavy sigh and looked up at the roof of the building in thought. Throk asked after a moment, “Is there something wrong with telling us?”  
Hiccup looked at them with a slightly started expression in his eyes, but shook his head, “No, no. It’s just—I’ve never told anyone bout this before…if anyone at ho-my old village knew I’d probably be locked away as some kind of prize or more likely, killed.”  
“Night Rider.” Mala said softly, with more care in a human voice than Hiccup had ever heard since his mother had left, as she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.  
He smiled at her as Throk scowled, “Know this Night Rider, you will always be welcome here.”  
Mala nodded, “Yes.”  
“Thanks.” Hiccup smiled, “Well back to how I’m a dragon…my mother is a dragon. Before you as how that’s even possible you should know that she was turned human.”  
Both of their eyes widened, “That’s horrible!” Throk exclaimed.  
“For the dragon anyway.” Mala added.  
Hiccup put out his hands in a calming gesture, “No, it’s alright, she wanted it. See, my mom is what the dragons call a Fyrest—I don’t think humans have a name for them. Anyway, she and several others of the Fyrests were transformed into humans to hide.”  
“Hide, from what?” Mala asked cautiously, “Dragons are magnificent creatures, what would they need to hide from?”  
“Dragon Slayers.” Toothless hissed from behind Hiccup.  
“Toothless! For the love of—don’t sneak up on me like that!” Hiccup chastised his brother.  
Said Night Fury shook his head and snorted, “You should pay more attention then.”  
Hiccup huffed as he turned back to Mala and Throk, “Well like Toothless said, Dragon Slayers. They were-are hiding from the Dragon Slayers.”  
Throk asked, “What is the difference between Dragon Hunters and Dragon Slayers?”  
Hiccup answered after a minute, “Uhm…from what I know, which isn’t a lot-believe me, Dragon Hunters capture and kill dragons for sport and profit whereas Dragon Slayers kill dragons because they believe all dragons are evil and not just some of them.”  
“Just like some men.” Toothless added, unhappily.  
Mala asked, immensely interested, “So how did these dragons, the Fyrests, become humans?”  
Hiccup frowned, “I don’t really know. Obsidian couldn’t remember and he’s the one who told me all this.”  
“Who’s, Obsidian?” Mala asked.  
“My dad,” Hiccup answered simply before adding, “Err-my adoptive dragon father, Toothless dad.”  
Throk interjected, “I’ve been wondering, you tell that you’re from a dragon killing village yet you have a Night Fury brother, how?”  
Hiccup grinned, “Well, when I was a baby my mom was taken by a dragon and began fighting for them—for what I don’t know as no one would tell me—but she sent Obsidian and Blair to look after me. They stayed hidden so no one in my village would know about them.”  
“How did your village not notice you going to them?”  
Hiccup scoffed, scowling again, “You’d be amazed at how oblivious they can be, especially to a runt.”  
Toothless butted his head against Hiccup’s stomach and warbled softly, “You’re not a runt.”  
“Glad you think so bud.” Hiccup said, scratching around his ears.  
“While I do not speak with dragons I can assume he said you’re not a runt, and I agree.”  
“Agreed.” Throk nodded, “Anyone who can fight off Dragon Hunters as such cannot possibly be, a runt.”  
Hiccup sighed lightly and nodded, the mood lifting a bit as the conversation continued. Hiccup and his pack left later that day back to the Edge. Hiccup was happy, he had gained new allies and friends…but he was also upset, the thought of who this Viggo Grimborn was troubling him.  
Hiccup sat in front of his desk looking over the maps that he had. Most of the dragons were asleep or out hunting in the Tiny Wings case. Toothless stood up and walked over to where his brother sat, staring. “Hiccup, what’s going through your mind?”  
Hiccup scowled and let out an exasperated sigh, “Viggo Grimborn.”  
“So, what about him?”  
“Toothless, he’s the leader of the Dragon Hunters, or at least the largest party of them.”  
Toothless curled around the chair Hiccup sat on, “Yeah, I know. But you’ve been thinking about him since we left the Defender’s of the Wing island.”  
“It’s just…we don’t know anything about this guy. Mala hardly knew anything, only that he wasn’t from around here. If we ever want to have a hope at winning this thing, or if we ever meet this Viggo we need to know something more about him. Who he is, where he’s from?”  
“Hiccup, you’re overthinking everything.”  
“No I’m not Toothless! These are common things that one needs to know in a war. We have an edge that he knows nothing on us, but we can’t let him have the same edge.”  
Toothless rolled his eyes, “Alright, then what do you propose to do about it?”  
Hiccup looked back at his maps, “I think it’s time to go farther. Go to the mainland and see if anyone knows how the heck this guy is.”  
“You do realize that the mainland is huge don’t you?”  
“Then we take a long trip. Toothless we need to know this, I need to know this.” He smiled at this brother, “Besides, we were going to explore once we had a base. Well now we do, and now we have an actual goal to the exploration.”  
“Nothing I say will talk you out of this, will it.” Toothless said while side glancing at Hiccup.  
“Nope.” Hiccup smiled.  
“Fine.” Toothless huffed, though a smile was threatening his features.  
“Great! We’ll leave in tomorrow.” He said, grinning from ear to ear.  
Toothless shook his head, “Swift will not like this.”

A lone lantern lit the cabin, a large figure deep in thought as he absently stared at a map. The figure was thinking of his defeat at the Defender’s of the Wing island, but more than that he was thinking of a certain boy. A boy who rode a Night Fury and had the wings of one too. Ryker snarled, how had that boy grown those wings? How had he hidden them so? Who was he really? All these questions floated around his mind as they docked and he left the room for the deck.  
A smaller, though still formidable, man walked up to Ryker, “Where are all the dragons, brother? I thought the plan was foolproof?”  
Ryker answered without much emotion and face calm, “There was an unexpected, opponent.”  
The two walked off the ship and towards the center of the island. “Oh? And who was it that posed such a threat.”  
“Night Rider.” Ryker growled.  
Viggo looked at his brother with an eyebrow raised, “The boy who rides a Night Fury.”  
“The same.” Ryker acknowledged.  
“Hmm…so he was at the Defender’s island?”  
“Yes, it was something I hadn’t foreseen as he looked nothing like the Defenders.”  
Viggo nodded, “This Night Rider is becoming quite the pest.”  
“This ‘pest’ just became a dragon.”  
Viggo laughed, “O’ brother, don’t you think you’re over doing it for just a boy?”  
Ryker stopped just outside the tent, causing Viggo to stop also, “Viggo-we almost had them. Yes we were suffering large losses but we were about to win. I threw their queen off a cliff and this-this Night Rider jumped after her…and caught her! He flew her to the ground unharmed, past what I did to her anyway.”  
“Well you have said that he rides a Night Fury and his name suggests just that.” Viggo chuckled.  
They entered the tent and Viggo stood behind a desk with a map of the Dragon Hunter ports and looked at them while Ryker continued, “Viggo,” He growled, getting angry as he slammed his fist on the table, “The boy flew without his dragon—he had two, life sized wings on his back!”  
Viggo looked up now, bearing an expression crossed between annoyed and curiosity, “Brother, you know that, that is impossible.”  
“Viggo, I saw it with my own eyes, as did the other Hunters with me. Whatever he is, he possess a more dangerous threat than we originally thought.”  
Viggo nodded, thinking, “You swear you saw this, this human with wings.”  
“Viggo, I wouldn’t be telling you if I wasn’t positive that I saw it.” Ryker nodded.  
A smile drew on Viggo’s face, “Hm…he may not have been so crazy after all.”  
“Who, Viggo?” Asked Ryker.  
“A man by the name of Devin. He came several years back, claiming that dragons had become humans. An expert hunter, if not a tad insane.”  
Ryker looked at Viggo with a blank expression, “And what do you say to his claims now?”  
“I’m not sure. Though it seems, if you are correct, that he may not have been so crazy after all.”  
“Should we try and find him, if he has fought these, things in the past-”  
“Good Odin, no!” Viggo scoffed.  
Ryker looked at him a bit perplexed, “Why not?”  
Viggo looked at Ryker like he had lost his mind, “Devin killed them without a second thought.”  
“And we do any different?” Ryker frowned.  
Viggo shrugged his shoulders in an accepting way, “No, but we do not always kill dragons, especially if they’d bring in more profit alive…such as Night Rider’s Night Fury. Much better profit alive than dead.”  
Ryker began to catch on and grinned maliciously, “So we catch this-thing?”  
“Yes Ryker, we will catch this Halfling and his Night Fury. Both solving our Night Rider problem and bringing in a nice profit.”  
“But we’ve been trying to bring him down for months now, why would now be any different?” Ryker frowned.  
“Oh it won’t, no doubt Night Rider will now be extra vigilant and cautious. But so will we.” Viggo ginned.  
 


	13. Chapter 13

Stoic walked through Berk, having just named a child for a family. The child was healthy and strong…so unlike his Hiccup had been, weak and small. He shook his head and sighed/huffed. That was all he could think of these days, Hiccup. Everything reminded him of his boy, it could be something as small as the forest colors or the empty house at night. He had shoved these thoughts away so he could lead his village but they were always there. A Viking ran past him, smiling, “Johann’s here!”  
Stoic looked down at the dock and saw the small trading ship, “So he is.”  
Most of Berk was standing at the docks, eager to trade. Stoic came up to Johann, whose smile fell upon seeing him. “I am sorry to hear about Hiccup, Stoic.” Johann offered, having heard from other villages.  
Stoic acted as if he didn’t hear it, “What news do you have?”  
“Nothing much. The Bog Burglars and the Murderous are at each other’s throats again.”  
“When is that new?” Stoic asked.  
Johann shrugged, “I must ask, have you seen anyone that is not from Berk around Berk lately?”  
Stoic thought through the past the few months, “No, why?”  
“I was only curious. I met a man named Night rider who paid with Berkian coin.” Johann explained, producing the coins. “It’s very likely they were traded with another village before making their way to him.”  
Stoic grabbed a coin and looked at it, it was indeed Berkian, before his head snapped back to Johann, “What was his name?”  
“Night Rider.”  
Gobber had hobbled over, “What kind of name is that?”  
Johann looked at Gobber with slightly widened eyes, indicating he was ready to tell a story, “Funny you should ask, it is very appropriate for what I saw.”  
“And what did you see Johann?” Stoic asked, patience beginning to were thin.  
Johann answered, hushed, “He rode a dragon, black as night.”  
“A Night Fury?” Gobber laughed, “Johann, I think you’ve been on the mead.”  
Johann looked offended, “I have not! You don’t think I wasn’t startled at seeing it? I was below deck checking on some of my more valuable items when I hear this heavy thump on deck. Curious I poke my head up just to be met with the massive head of a rather scary, black as night, dragon!”  
Stoic laid a hand on Johann’s shoulder, “It’s alright Johann, I’m giving ya the benefit of the doubt.”  
“Benefit of the doubt.” Johann muttered under his breath while shaking his head.  
Gobber pointed to the coin which Stoic had been examining, “So is that where ya got those?”  
“Yes.”  
Stoic’s eyes narrowed, “So this, Night Rider was it? Rides a Night Fury, and paid for what in Berkian coin?”  
“That is where it is strange.” Johann started, “You’d think for one riding the Unholy Offspring of Lightning and Death Itself would know where he was at.”  
“Johann-” Stoic said, wanting him to get to the point.  
“He bought books, maps of the area.”  
Stoic stroked his beard, “Hm—what did he look like?”  
Johann only shook his head, “If only I knew. He had armor and a mask on. I couldn’t even see his eyes from the shadows.”  
Stoic nodded and smiled, “Thank you Johann.”  
He and Gobber walked away, Gobber hobbling and saying, “You don’t believe him, do ya, Stoic?”  
“I don’t know quite what to think Gobber.” Stoic admitted, “I mean, a man riding a dragon, a Night Fury no less.”  
“I agree, doesn’t sound possible.”  
Stoic stopped, “But what if it is true? This man, Night Rider, could become a real threat.”  
Gobber nodded, “Well, from what Johann was saying Night Rider was a ways outside the archipelago.”  
“Gobber, that’s the point. If he can ride a Night Fury then he could probably raise an army of dragons.”  
Gobber paled, understand what and who Stoic was referring to. “Well, for now there is nothing we can do but keep tabs with all the traders and what news they bring.”  
“I know Gobber, I know.” Stoic said walking away.  
The sun had fallen and Stoic sat in front of the crackling fire, staring at the sword Hiccup had made and mind wandering to a time long ago…a time when his boy had only been five.  
Hiccup sat there, rigid, “It was scary. There was a dragon, it was huge and black as night!”  
Stoic laughed, “Must have been a deer Hiccup.”  
“What? No! It was a dragon, dragon! Do you not hear me? It was a dragon!” Hiccup shouted.  
“Hiccup, if it had truly been a dragon you would be dead now. It was probably just a deer.” Stoic mused, what the imagination of a five-year-old can dream up.  
“But daddy it was huge, as big as you, and pitch black!”  
“Sounds like you dreamt up a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.”  
“You don’t believe me.” Hiccup pouted.  
“I’m sorry Hiccup, but a Night Fury? No, I don’t. As I said before, if it had truly been a dragon you would be dead. A dragon always goes for the kill. Finish eating and go to bed, it’s getting late.”  
“Ok,” Hiccup quickly finished eating, “Night daddy.”  
“Good night Hiccup.”  
He frowned, he knew that Hiccup was only imagining things but at the same time…his eyes drifted closed before he could think about it farther.

Hiccup closed the lid to the sack and hefted it up, smiling all the while. He left his house to see Toothless waiting patiently while Swiftwind was glaring at him then at Hiccup himself. “Hiccup, is this wise?”  
“Swift, it’s something I need to do, and want to do. We’ll be alright.” He put the lone sack on Toothless, “You’re good holding down the Edge?”  
“I’ll be fine. It’s our Halfling that we’re worried about.”  
Hiccup set a hand on his snout, “Toothless will protect me, be back sometime.”  
“Just be safe.” Firestorm said, nuzzling him.  
Hiccup laughed, “Will do. Come on bud.”  
The duo took to the skies before Hiccup maneuvered to Toothless’ back and opened his wings again, making the two a small blur retreating into the distance. Steelclasp looked at the now empty sky, “Were we right to let them go?”  
Rockslide looked at her, “Have you met Hiccup?” He sighed, eyes sad, “Besides, maybe they’ll learn why their kinds just, disappeared.”

The first several hours were boring to say the least, the next couple of hours…were just as boring. They landed on an island for the night, both being incredibly exhausted. Hiccup awoke that morning to Toothless nuzzling him awake, he groaned, “What?”  
Toothless jumped up and down, “Wake up you useless Halfling! We should be going already!”  
Hiccup rolled over, draping a wing over himself to block out the light, “Just five more minutes.”  
Toothless snorted and shook his head, flipping Hiccup over again so his wing wasn’t covering his face, “No, now! Come on, I already got us breakfast.”  
Hiccup cracked an eye open, looking at the fish before burring his head in his arms, “But we flew all day at fast speeds…what’s wrong with a little more sleep?”  
“Because once you start to sleep for too long it’s almost impossible to wake you for the next twenty-four hours.” Toothless deadpanned.  
Hiccup groaned and heaved himself up, glaring at a certain reptile, before grabbing a fish. Toothless, much happier now, bounded over to where Hiccup sat and started a small fire, “Thanks bud.” Hiccup’s voice ground out with usual morning liveliness.  
They left shortly thereafter, flying for several hours again before Toothless roared in happiness, “Hiccup! Land, and more than just an island.”  
Hiccup looked in the direction they were flying closely and saw it too, “About time.”  
Within the hour they landed in the foreign place. It was grassy, very few trees and the few that were there were sparse and frankly didn’t look like they belonged. Hiccup looked about the lulling hills where nothing look to be, it was all quiet. “Where do you think we are?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “I don’t know.” He pulled out a map from Johann, “Judging by this we should be in a place called, Ireland?”  
“Never heard of it.” Toothless huffed, a bit of his smoke hitting the paper.  
Hiccup scratched his head, “Neither have I, bud. Let’s fly in the clouds for a bit until we find a village.”  
And that’s what they did, for the next two days. All they saw was the occasional goat or lone hut that looked to be abandoned. It was on their third day inward that they finally came across a village. It was small and looked only to be a farming community, probably only consisting of a few families. Landing in the small forested area Hiccup left Toothless and most of his supplies there. Toothless warbled unhappily, “I don’t think you should go alone.”  
“You don’t think I should go anywhere alone.”  
He huffed, “That’s because you always find trouble.”  
“Hey, I don’t go looking for it.” Hiccup said with hands up, “I’ll be fine. We’ve already scouted it, it’s just a small farming community. I’ll have my sword and shield, ok?”  
Toothless sat, “Fine, but be back by night fall or I’ll come looking for you.”  
“Ok, just don’t get caught, alright?” Hiccup sighed as he walked out of the trees.  
It wasn’t far to the village, only about a quarter of a mile, and he made it there in good time. The village was small but busy, a few young children ran around chasing each other while the older girls fulfilled their household chores and the boys helped in the fields. Almost as soon as Hiccup set foot in the village heads turned. There was an awkward pause and silence between the two before an older man came forward, “Beannachtaí. D'fhéadfadh liom a iarraidh a bhfuil tú?”  
“Uh…” Hiccup breathed, nervously. He hadn’t thought of possible language barriers. “Scisne latine?”  
The man nodded and smiled, “Yes, I do know some Latin.”  
Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief, “Oh good.”  
“I am Logan. Who are you stranger?”  
“I’m Rider.” Hiccup said politely.  
The man nodded, “Welcome to our village. What brings you here?”  
Hiccup shrugged, “Exploration.”  
“Exploration? This far north?”  
Hiccup laughed, “I am from much farther north, this is actually very south for me.”  
“Ah,” Logan said in understanding, “I did not think you from England or Rome.”  
“Why would you think I’m from there?” Hiccup asked, confused. He’d never think that Vikings would be mistaken for a Roman in a million years…even if he wasn’t very Viking like.  
“They are just the most common.”  
“Oh.” Hiccup nodded.  
A little girl ran up to Logan and spoke in a language Hiccup didn’t know before he gestured to a house and she ran to it. Logan looked back to Hiccup, “How long will you be staying here?”  
“I only came to get a few things, I’ll be leaving before night fall.”  
“So soon? It is dangerous to travel at night, robbers and not to mention the Saxons.”  
“Saxons?” Hiccup asked.  
Logon looked at him in surprise, “You must be from very far up north to not have heard about the Saxons.”  
“Yeah.” Hiccup nodded, “Anyway I’ll be fine. Where can I buy some bread?”  
“Follow me, we have a local baker.” They walked for a bit in silence before Logan said suddenly, “You have a nice sword.”  
Hiccup looked at it in surprise, “It’s alright I suppose, could use some work though.”  
“Who is your master?”  
“Master?” Hiccup asked, “I have no master.”  
Logan looked at him funny, “Really? How have you learned then?”  
Hiccup shrugged, “My dad taught me some and I read a book but other than that I just kinda practiced on my own.”  
Logan nodded as they reached the small hut that was a bakery, “I see, well I wish you the best of luck.”  
“Uh—thanks.” Hiccup bought some bread, having gotten tired of just fish or whatever else they could catch, and made his way back to the woods.  
Toothless was half asleep, waiting for him, when he stretched his wings, “Finally you’re back.”  
“I wasn’t gone for that long.” Hiccup frowned.  
“Long enough, ready?”  
Hiccup stored the bread and smiled, “Defiantly.”  
They took off in a flurry of wingbeats into the thick clouds above. The flight was nice, the air remarkably warmer than Berk’s or even that of the Edge’s. Toothless loving the warmer air even more than Hiccup. As the sun began to set they flew into more rugged country, cliffs and drop offs adorning the landscape. They found a cave in the side of one of the cliffs and settled into it for the night.  
Morning came and both brothers woke with it. Leaving the supplies in the cave they took off into the air. Hiccup sped by Toothless who was gliding casually, “Come on Toothless!”  
Toothless snorted and shook his head, “Can’t you just fly for once?”  
“I did…for most of the past several days. Come on, don’t you want to play a bit?”  
Toothless’ eyes changed slightly and Hiccup grinned, knowing he won, and tilted himself up into the clouds. Toothless followed thereafter and shot by the smaller Halfling. They chased each other for another minute until they just glided into the upper atmosphere. Hiccup then folded his wings and plummeted back to earth. “Yeah!”  
Toothless was there falling next to him, tongue out, before he pushed Hiccup lightly to make him spin. “You have too much fun with this.”  
Hiccup shrugged as he spread his wings again and glided, only a few hundred feet above the ground. They landed in the cave again and Hiccup pulled out the map. Toothless walked over, “Where are we now?”  
“Uhm, looks like a place called, England…isn’t that were Arthur was king?” Hiccup asked.  
Toothless looked at the paper before his heavy breathing pushed it away, “I don’t know, is that in Albion?”  
Hiccup frowned at his brother, “Weren’t you listening to Blair when she was telling us all this?”  
Toothless looked upwards, suddenly finding the ceiling very interesting, “Maybe…”  
“Really?” Hiccup asked.  
Toothless huffed, “What!? I got bored, it’s not like it was my species. And I wasn’t even ten years old!”  
“Yeah, you have the attention span of a sparrow.” Hiccup teased.  
A ‘thwap’ was heard when Toothless turned around, pretending to ignore Hiccup. Said Halfling rubbed the hit side of his head, “Useless dragon. Come on, we should probably get going again.”  
Toothless turned back around, still giving Hiccup a stink eye, “Fine, but do you even know where we’re going or what you’re looking for?”  
“Sort of.” Hiccup shrugged, “I think Blair said that Albion was renamed England after a little while…maybe I can find out more about my mom and about her kind.”  
Hiccup looked out at the vast landscape with a saddened and curious expression as Toothless nuzzled him and purred lightly, “We’ll find something Hiccup.”  
Hiccup smiled, “Yeah, I hope so. It kinda kills me not knowing much about them…or even about you and why I’ve hundreds of Nightmares, Nadders, and even Razorwhips but the only Night Furies I’ve seen were you, dad and mom.”  
Toothless nodded, “I had asked them about that a few times, but they always said that I wasn’t ready to know.”  
Hiccup looked up at Toothless, “Really? Why?”  
His wings moved in a shrugging motion, “Don’t know. I pestered them until the day they left to help the White King and they still wouldn’t tell me. All they said was that it was my place in life to guard you.”  
“’Guard me’? Guard me from what?”  
“Again they wouldn’t tell me…I think they planned on telling me when they planned on taking you to your mom.”  
Hiccup huffed and frowned and thought aloud, “Well that’s great…what were they trying to hide from us that’s so terrible?”

Toothless flew wingtip to wingtip with Hiccup as they penetrated deeper into the heard of England. Though still far from its heart they were seeing more villages and denser forests, which was just fine with them. They were currently encamped in a very dense section of forest as no cave was available. Hiccup roasted a small rabbit which Toothless had caught while said dragon laid there in boredom.   
Both dragons were fairly tired and were ready to call it a night when a heavy twig, it actually sounded more like a branch, cracked. Toothless’ head shot up instantly while his ear plates stood straight up, twitching trying to identify the source of the sudden noise. A low rumble came from him, “Stay here Hiccup.”  
Hiccup set the rabbit down and nodded quietly, while also folding his wings into the leather. Toothless flapped up into the trees and disappeared into the quickly falling darkness effortlessly. Another slight rustling of leaves came from behind him along with feelings of excitement, anger, spite, and several other, rather negative, emotions. Hiccup jumped to his feet as something burst through the bushes and lunged at him.  
 


	14. Chapter 14

Hiccup leapt out of the way of the swiping sword and drew his own. On the offender’s next pass they collided with a ‘clang’. Hiccup took in as much as he could about his attacker in the few precious seconds that he had. The man was tall and muscular, not nearly as tall or as muscular as the Vikings in the Archipelago, but still formidable. What stuck Hiccup the most was the lack of armor, only simple garments adorned the man. But Hiccup didn’t have much time to dwell on these thoughts as the man pressed harder. Hiccup sidestepped him and brought the hilt of his sword down on the nape of the man’s neck and back.  
He fell to the ground as five others ran out of the bushes towards Hiccup. “Oh Thor why?” He asked as he turned and ran, not wanting to try his luck with so many.  
As he ran he heard a ‘click’ behind him and a solid ‘thunk’ in the tree trunk that was just in front of him. As he ran passed it he saw it was a crossbow arrow. His eyes widened, “Really? Crossbows?”  
He went to run around another tree to try and prevent an arrow from hitting him when his breath was suddenly taken away as he was tackled to the side. Hiccup ended up on the ground with the strange man on top of him, poised to strike. Hiccup sucked in a terrified breath as he reached down and grabbed his shield, activating it at the last moment. The sword clattered off of the shield and Hiccup swung out and hit the man on his jaw, giving himself enough room to wiggle out. The man recovered soon enough and attacked Hiccup again, but neither had their weapon so it came down to a fist fight…one Hiccup was losing. His speed and agility were matched by the man’s thinner frame but the man also had the advantage of a more muscular build too. Hiccup moved to grab his shield which had been knocked away when the man struck faster than a serpent, holding Hiccup in a head lock as the others poured out of the dense woods.  
The closest one to him raised the butt of his sword to strike Hiccup, who was struggling violently in the headlock but unable to purchase any ground, when yell was heard and a young man—who looked to be around Hiccup’s own age, tumbled out of the bushes. Another attacker burst out and continued his attack on the young man as two more men, who were opposing each other, also fell into the—apparently popular—clearing. The man who was covered in armor yelled, in English, “Tedmund, behind you!”  
The young man, Tedmund, bowed out of the way of the incoming sword. Hiccup’s two attackers were momentarily distracted and the man with a sword was close enough to him that he was able to kick it out of his hands while also wrenching himself out of the other’s arms. He dove for his shield before rolling and picking up his sword, meeting the men. There were several exchanges between them before the three defenders were pressed back to back in a triangle. Every man there breathed heavily and all gripped their swords as if their lives depended on them…which they did.  
They all watched the other carefully, waiting for a moment in which to strike when some kind of horn sounded and the attackers suddenly left, it almost looked as if they were fleeing, though from what it wasn’t clear. It was only after the mystery men left and were out of eye sight for several long moments did they finally relax and breathe again. The man in armor sheathed his longsword and turned to the younger man, “Tedmund, are you hurt?”  
The man straightened and shook his head, “No sir.”  
“Good, clean your sword.”  
The man hurried to do so as Hiccup turned to the older of the two, “Uh,” He said, having to pause for a moment to remember the English, “Thanks for the save.”  
The man looked at him, “It looked as if you had it under control.”  
“What is your definition of ‘under control’?” Hiccup asked, slightly sarcastically.  
He laughed, “It was my honor to do so if your master was not around. Speaking of which, where is he?”  
“Ugh.” Hiccup sighed, putting his hand on his forehead in an exasperated manner, “Why does everyone keep thinking I have a master?”  
The man blinked, “Well you are of age and your sword indicates as much.”  
Hiccup looked at his sword in confusion, “Really? That’s it, my sword?”  
“I take it you are no one’s apprentice?”  
“Not really, not anymore.” Hiccup said, shaking his head.  
The man straightened, “Where are my manners? I am Sir Wymon.”  
Hiccup shook the offered hand, “I’m Rider.”  
“And this is my squire, Tedmund.”  
Tedmund nodded to Hiccup, “It is an honor.”  
“Same.” Hiccup said looking at Tedmund in a calculating expression.  
“While I am delighted to meet you, Rider,” Wymon said with an elated expression, “Why are you out in these woods alone? Do you not fear the Saxons?”  
“Maybe, if I knew who the Saxons were.” Hiccup stated simply.  
Both Wymon and Tedmund gave a short laugh before Tedmund answered, “You were just attacked by them and yet you still do not recognize them?”  
Hiccup looked into the direction they had retreated to with slightly widened eyes, “That was the Saxons? Why did they attack me?”  
Wymon shrugged, “Could have been for a number of reasons. But most likely for something of value.”  
“But I don’t have anything of value.” Hiccup lied, thinking of Toothless which they must have seen.  
“They must have seen something, your sword and shield are enough to garner their attention.” Wymon explained.  
Hiccup nodded, “Why did they just retreat though?”  
Tedmund smiled, “Friend, you must be from a long ways away from here to not know the answer to these questions.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “A long ways is one way to put it.”  
Wymon looked at the almost dark sky, “You will stay with us Rider? It is almost dark and dangerous to travel alone, as you just discovered.”  
“Uh-sure.” Hiccup said, slightly nervously. He could tell by the man’s stance and expression he would not take ‘no’ for an answer.  
“Excellent! Tedmund, start a fire, we will camp here for the night.” Wymon then disappeared through the bushes.  
“Wh-where’s he going?” Hiccup asked.  
Tedmund set the sticks in a makeshift fireplace, “To bring back the horses, if the Saxons didn’t get them.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is Sir Wymon?”  
“Friend, he is a knight of England! I am his squire, and I too shall one day be a knight.”  
“Oh,” Hiccup smiled, “That’s nice. Uhm, you never answered my question on why the Saxon’s suddenly left.”  
“Oh who knows? They do that, come and go. They’re cowards who don’t stay to finish a fight.” Tedmund explained.  
Hiccup nodded politely, but secretly thought that Toothless had something to do with it. He looked around, where is Toothless anyway? Wymon came back with two horses and tied them to a nearby tree, “So, Rider, where are you from?”  
“I-uh-am from up north.”  
“Scotland?” Tedmund asked.  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, it’s really far north, nothing much. Just a small island.”  
“So why are you here?” Tedmund asked.  
“Curiosity.” Hiccup shrugged.  
Wymon smiled, “Then why don’t you travel with us for a while? We can offer you added protection as well as company.”  
“Uh-thanks but-”  
“Oh come now, it will be a welcome pleasure.” Wymon pressed.  
Hiccup sighed, “I-I guess I can for a few days.”  
“Wonderful! We will ride again at sunrise.”  
They all then settled down for the night. Tedmund and Wymon fell asleep rather quickly but Hiccup just laid on the ground, slightly uncomfortable, worrying about Toothless. He waited another half-hour before he heard a rustle in the bushes. Jumping up Hiccup called out quietly, “Toothless, is that you?”  
A black snout poked out of the bushes along with a gummy smile, “Yes, are you alright?”  
Hiccup nodded towards the woods, “Go deeper in, I don’t want Wymon seeing you.”  
They walked deeper in before Hiccup sighed and undid the vest so his wings could stretch. Toothless sniffed him and gave him a close inspection before sitting down, satisfied that Hiccup was indeed not hurt. “What happened? I waited at our camp for a while before going out to find you.”  
“Sorry bud.” Hiccup apologized, scratching his brother under his jaw, “I met a knight and his squire and they wanted me to accompany them for a while.”  
Toothless snorted, “Why? I thought you had places to go?”  
Hiccup laughed at his brother’s tone of voice, “I do, but Wymon is a knight of England…maybe he’ll know something about the Fyrests.”  
Toothless sighed but nodded, “Fine, but I’ll be watching.”  
Hiccup hugged him, “I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

The sun rose in the morning and all three people were up with it. Wymon mounted his horse, “You can rider with Tedmund, Rider.”  
“S-sure.” Hiccup looked at the horse with caution.  
Tedmund looked at Hiccup, “Don’t you know how to ride?”  
“Not horses.” Hiccup whispered then mumbled to himself. “I haven’t even seen one, let alone ride one.”  
“Well it’s easy, I’ll steer.” Tedmund smiled.  
Hiccup mounted the horse with little difficulty, not being that unlike Toothless. If anything it was slightly easier because the horse wasn’t moving and trying to play tag. They rode off along a barely visible rode with Wymon in the lead. They rode in silence for a little while as Hiccup observed everything. One thing Hiccup noticed was the dragon head on Wymon’s shield, “Sir Wymon, do you fight dragons?”  
Wymon looked back at Hiccup, “Why do you ask?”  
“You shield, it has dragons.”  
Wymon laughed, “It is just a crest. Dragons, at least real dragons, have not been seen in generations.”  
“When was the last time a dragon was seen?” Hiccup asked.  
“You, my friend, are very curious for things of legend.” Tedmund smiled.  
Hiccup shrugged, “Just a part of my charm. Why did you say real dragons earlier, Sir Wymon?”  
“Something to tell the locals and villagers, every knight needs a harrowing adventure.” Wymon explained.  
Hiccup nodded but secretly thought of Berk, you want that kind of adventure spend a month in Berk. “What about you, Rider? You must have stories to tell, you have a worthy sword. You’re father a knight or something of the like?” Wymon asked.  
“Not much to tell. I’m from a simple village and was the blacksmith’s apprentice since I was young. After a while I got curious so left to explore.”  
“And you made your sword?” Wymon asked.  
Hiccup nodded, “Yup.”  
“What have you named it?” Tedmund asked.  
“Named it?” Hiccup said confused, “Why would I name it?”  
Wymon turned around to face him, “Why would you not? A sword is a valuable thing, it deserves a name.”  
“Oh,” Hiccup nodded and thought for a moment, “How about Endeavor then?”  
Wymon and Tedmund nodded, Wymon adding, “A fine name.”  
There was relative silence again for several hours before they rested at a stream. Hiccup asked, “You said that dragons once existed here, do you know what happened to them?”  
“One for the legends.” Wymon chuckled, “Not much is known in fact. It is believed that Merlin cursed them to die when they attacked Camelot and King Arthur.”  
“Do you believe it?” Hiccup asked.  
Tedmund laughed now, “King Arthur and Merlin are legends, just as the dragons are. Meant for young children and bedtime.”  
Hiccup nodded thoughtfully, “But if this only happened a few centuries ago…”  
Wymon shook his head, “Rider, a few centuries is several lifetimes. Plenty of time for such grand stories to be told and spread. But they are just that, stories. If they are true then show me Camelot.”  
Hiccup blinked, “Is Albion not in existence anymore?”  
“Neigh, it too has fallen to legend with King Arthur.”  
Hiccup’s shoulders sagged a bit at that news, “Oh.”  
Wymon smiled however and clapped him on the back, “That’s of no matter though, they were only stories of the past. Here and now we can become legends.”  
The kind gesture of Wymon made Hiccup stumble a bit and face grow slightly taunt at the memories of Berk, the way Gobber would do just that to him almost every day. So focused was he on controlling his expressions he missed Tedmund’s curious look.  
They journeyed for another couple of hours before breaking camp once again. Hiccup waited a few hours before he was sure the other two were asleep again before getting up and walking deeper into the forest where he was met by an elated tongue, “Ewe, Toothless you know that doesn’t wash out!” Hiccup griped, flinging off what saliva he could.  
Toothless bounced around, “I don’t care, did you learn anything? When can we leave? Where-”  
Hiccup cut him off, “Slow down bud. I didn’t learn much, only that Albion doesn’t exist anymore except in legend along with King Arthur and the Fyrests.”  
Toothless sighed, “I’m sorry Hiccup…do you think we can go soon?”  
Hiccup undid his vest and let his wings stretch, “Yeah, we’ll leave tomorrow. I’ll see if there’s any more I can gather from Sir Wymon and Tedmund.”  
Toothless nuzzled Hiccup and he laughed, hugging his brother’s head. His laughter was suddenly cut short when a startled gasp cut through the air. Toothless’ head turned to the bushes and his eyes narrowed dangerously as he growled. Hiccup flared his wings a bit as he also drew his sword, “Come out, hands in the air.”  
When the figure came out Hiccup nearly dropped his sword and Toothless instantly stopped growling, though remained hesitant. “Tedmund?” Hiccup asked.  
The startled young man could only stare at the duo in front of him with an open mouth for several long moments before managing, “R-Rider? What, what is that?”  
Hiccup sheathed the sword and sighed, “Tedmund Toothless, Toothless Tedmund.”  
Tedmund looked Toothless over with a careful eye before they widened again in even more fear, “It-it’s a dragon!”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yup, a Night Fury.”  
“It’s a dragon! Wait, what’s a Night Fury?”  
Hiccup scratched Toothless’ chin, “That’s his species.”  
“Species…what do you mean—by the saints, Rider you have wings!” Tedmund suddenly shouted now in pure terror.  
Hiccup leapt over and clamped a hand over his mouth, “Hush it will you? I don’t need the whole world knowing about it. I know I have wings.”  
Tedmund looked at Hiccup with eyes still wide as he slowly released his mouth, “But, what? How?”  
Hiccup sighed and rubbed his forehead, “This is going to be a long night.”  
“You’ve got that right.” Toothless rolled his eyes before curling up and looking at the two with an unamused expression. “There goes our flight.”  
“Rider, how? I mean, dragons are only myth and…” He looked at Hiccup’s blank face, “Dragons were never just myths, were they?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No. They’ve always been around, just not around here.”  
Tedmund looked at Toothless with a new, curious, look in his eyes, “Can I?”  
Toothless raised his head and sniffed him before grumbling, “Just don’t get used to it, human.”  
“Toothless!” Hiccup hissed, “Be nice.”  
“I am. He still has both limbs and life.” Toothless shot back playfully.  
Hiccup frowned and gestured forward, “It’s fine Tedmund, Toothless is just being a pain.”  
Tedmund reached out and began scratching Toothless scales. Toothless closed his eyes and purred blissfully, “Wow, just, wow. You said dragons always existed, where are they?” Tedmund asked.  
Hiccup shrugged, “I honestly don’t know. There are several that live far up north but I think some might still live down here, somewhere. That’s one reason why I’m here, we’re looking for other dragons.”  
Tedmund asked, “What kind of dragon is, Toothless? I’ve seen pictures of dragons from our myths but—he looks nothing like them.”  
Hiccup smiled, “Yeah, Toothless is a Night Fury…could you tell me more, about the dragons here. Or at least their stories?”  
Tedmund laughed, “I finally understand your interest in the dragons and their myths.”  
“Ha-ha, yeah.” Hiccup laughed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head.  
Tedmund smiled and stood up, “Well…I’d be happy to tell you, if you would tell me about yourself and those wings.”  
“Yeah, that’d be great—just, please, don’t tell Sir Wymon.” Hiccup all but pleaded.  
Tedmund’s smile grew that much more, “And give up the chance to know something that he doesn’t, you must think me daft!”  
“Thank Thor.” He breathed.  
“Now, I believe that you have some explaining to do?” Tedmund asked.  
The trio sat and discussed until sun up. Hiccup looked up and sighed, “Hu-I guess we won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”  
“It’s going to be a long day.” Tedmund yawned.  
Hiccup just shrugged, having pulled many over nighters and seventy-two hour plus days in the past with his inventions and what not. Stretching his wings one last time, he gave them a good flap which blew many of the, long since dead, leaves away before wrapping them back around his torso and covering them tightly in the vest.  
Tedmund watched this with fascination, “So that’s how you’ve hidden them.”  
“Yup. Have since they started growing.” Hiccup looked up at the fading colors of dawn, “We should be getting back before Sir Wymon gets worried.”  
“Yes, that would probably be wise.”  
They picked their way back to the campsite to find Wymon just getting up, “Ah, good to see you lads up early, now we can get an early move on.”  
Tedmund sighed quietly but Wymon didn’t hear and Hiccup sent him an apologetic smile.

Toothless met Hiccup and Tedmund again that night. Tedmund scratched his scales some more and sighed heavily, “Must you leave so soon?”  
Hiccup undid his vest and nodded, “It would be best. Toothless and I came to explore the world, get questions answered—answers which obviously aren’t here.”  
“I understand, I just wish we could have more time.” Tedmund nodded.  
“Hmm…Do you want to go on a flight with us?” Hiccup asked.  
“What makes you think I want to carry him?” Toothless huffed.  
Hiccup deadpanned, “After him scratching you nonstop for three hours last night?”  
Toothless’ earflaps fell against his head as he glared, though Hiccup could tell it was not heart felt, “Fine, I guess a quick flight wouldn’t hurt anything.”  
“Impatient dragon.” Hiccup said, shaking his head.  
Tedmund looked at Hiccup, “Will he let me?”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah, hop on. We’ll show you how dragons fly.”  
Tedmund was on a second later with Hiccup right behind him, clipped in so that Tedmund wouldn’t fall off in the take off. Toothless leaped into the air and Tedmund drew in a quick and short breath, laced with fear and exhilaration. After a minute they leveled out, only a few hundred feet above the ground. Hiccup slid off of Toothless and flew beside them. Tedmund breathed, “This, this is amazing! No, beyond amazing! This is what you grew up doing, every day of your life?”  
Hiccup shrugged but smiled, “Yeah, as often as I could. So it wasn’t every day, but as close to it as possible.”  
Tedmund just looked around, mouth agape in wonder, “No words could describe this properly.” He leaned his head back and looked up at the stars before looking at Hiccup, “I can only imagine what it must feel like to fly on your own wings, Rider.”  
“Well, Toothless has been my wings for about as long as I’ve been able to fly…at least you get to know that feeling. Unlike my village.” He added quietly, sadly.  
Toothless warbled, concerned, before Tedmund asked, “I know that he is your brother, but how do you befriend a dragon, Rider?”  
Hiccup thought for a moment before answering, “Well, for me personally, I talk to them—explain who I am and what I’m there for. Most of the time it works. But why do you want to know?”  
Tedmund looked down at Toothless before looking back up at Hiccup, “Because if I ever meet another dragon I don’t, think I’ll want to harm it. If it is anything like Toothless I know that the stories of cruel, vicious creature that are described as these, dragons are false. If I could, I would like to befriend it…but that’s if there are even any around. As you have said, you have seen none around and many of them live far up north.”  
Hiccup smiled, “I would be happy to give you some advice, keep in mind all dragons are different.” Tedmund nodded, listening, “First off, it’s best to show them that you mean no harm. Then, really, it’s just finding a way to connect with them, show them that they can trust you. Giving them food is one good way to go, a good salmon or cod can go a long way in befriending a dragon.”  
Toothless glared at hiccup for the last comment, “What can I say, you humans have the worst taste in fish, always burning it like that.”  
Tedmund glanced between Hiccup and Toothless as said dragon growled something out, “Thanks Rider.”  
“Anytime Tedmund.” They landed and Tedmund dismounted. Hiccup walked over and awkwardly scratched the back of his head, again. “So, uh, after you become a knight or whatever and you wanna visit, I’ll be on an island.” He pulled out a map from the lone satchel and pointed to Dragons Edge, “It’s what I call home, you’re welcome anytime.”  
Tedmund looked at Hiccup almost unbelievingly before smiling and shaking his hand and pulling him into a hug, “Thank you Rider, for everything.”  
Hiccup laughed, “Yeah, no problem.” He turned to leave before turning back to face him and added, “Uh, look. There some people out there, they’ll claim that they want to help dragons. I know them as the Dragon Slayers, but they may, probably will, go by a different name. Please say nothing about me to them, or anyone else. And I don’t just mean me the Halfling, I mean me, Rider. I want to stay hidden from them at all costs.”  
Tedmund saw the slightly scared and sad eyes of both dragons and nodded, “You have my word as a knight, I shall tell no one on my life. Besides, what kind of friend would I be giving away the greatest secret my friend had to offer?”  
“Thank you Tedmund, I hope to see you again one day.” Hiccup smiled.  
Tedmund smiled and nodded, “I’ll keep you to that promise. Safe journeys Rider.”  
Hiccup and Toothless took to the air and disappeared only seconds later, Tedmund only being able to follow them by the slight blockage of starlight as they passed overhead until the flew into some clouds. He sighed and made his way back to the camp, “Until I see you again Rider, you strange Halfling.”


	15. Chapter 15

Hiccup flew wing to wing with Toothless as their shadow’s passed on the clouds below on the moonlight night. They had left Tedmund and England a few nights back and were now crossing into a country know as France. They had been in its borders for a day or so now but hadn’t found anything remarkable. They sat on a beach, with no one or village around for miles. Hiccup ate the fish that Toothless had caught, Toothless finished half of his and scrunched his nose, smelling the fish, “These taste funny.”  
Hiccup bit into his just done fish, “Mh, just different, still fish.”  
Toothless hurriedly ate the rest of his before prodding Hiccup, “Are you done? Can we go yet? There’s nothing here and I want to fly some more.”  
Hiccup laughed at his impatience but nodded, “Yeah, we can go.”

They flew for several more days, not passing anything of interest, until they stopped by a seaside town in the country of Spain. Hiccup left Toothless back a ways on the opposite side of a hill, as there were no forests around, and made his way into the town. After some confusion, he made his way to the forge, needing to fix his shield which had been damaged a little in the fight in England. The owner of the forge came over to Hiccup and asked in Latin, “What can I do for you?”  
“I was wanting to know if I could rent your forge.” Hiccup answered.  
The man thought for a moment before, “You have money?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “Not much, but I can offer my services as payment.”  
“You any good?”  
“Yes, I’ve been an apprentice since I was very young and I’ve crafted a lot.”  
The man waved him in, “Alright, if you can actually forge you have yourself a deal.”  
Hiccup walked in and grabbed a broken farm tool. The blacksmith watched Hiccup as he worked for the next half hour. Finished, Hiccup dunked the fixed tool into cool water and showed it to the watching blacksmith. He reached over and tested the tool. “Alright. You work half the day and you can use the forge for the other half.”  
Hiccup nodded eagerly and set to work, by late afternoon he had completed his end of the deal and quickly took his broken shield off of his leg.  
The blacksmith walked over to Hiccup and asked, “What is that?”  
He smiled, “A shield I made. I got into a fight a while back and it sustained some damage.”  
The blacksmith picked up the shield and examined it, “It doesn’t look like it would be much good in a fight.”  
Hiccup smiled and activated the shield. The blacksmith jumped and nearly dropped the shield in surprise. Hiccup laughed as he grabbed the shield and laid it back on the table, “It needs some work, its springs having been damaged. I need to figure out a better way to protect the main mechanism.”  
“You must have had some teacher.” The blacksmith grinned.  
Hiccup paused for a moment, “Yeah, he was good.”  
Hiccup worked in silence for the next few hours until the repairs were done and he tested it out a few times. The blacksmith came back in, holding something in his hand, “Heading out are you?”  
Hiccup nodded, “I have a ways to go. I just wanted to get this fixed before anything else happened again.”  
He smiled, “Well, have safe travels.” He grabbed Hiccup’s hand and placed something in it, “Take this, I have no need for it. I don’t even know what it does.”  
Hiccup looked at the circular thing in his hand, “I, I couldn’t-”  
The blacksmith held up a hand. “Think nothing of it. My brother came back from a sailing expedition and gave me that, he didn’t know what it does and neither do I. It’s just been sitting around collecting dust since no one wants it. You seem to be a smart boy, maybe you’ll learn what it does.”  
Hiccup looked at it before looking back at him, “Uh, thanks.”  
Pocketing the devise, he left the village and made his way to the back of the hill before Toothless swooped down and met him. Hiccup smiled and scratched him for a moment, “Let’s go bud.”

They flew on for another few days, the weather becoming much warmer but still slightly cool. Though to Hiccup this was the warmest weather he had ever had the pleasure to experience. They landed on the other side of a range of mountains, Hiccup had yet to learn what they were called, and camped for the night. Early the next morning they left, a few hours into the flights they found a large body of water, “Toothless, we’re at the ocean again!”  
While Hiccup loved the inland, he would always be found of the sight of the ocean. Toothless sniffed the air before responding, “No, it doesn’t smell like the ocean.”  
“Well what is it then?” Hiccup asked.  
“I don’t know. I’m just saying, it’s not the ocean, different smell.”  
Hiccup grinned and looked down, seeing no one around, before turning to Toothless, “Hey, I haven’t tested the fixes on the shield yet…”  
Toothless grinned at his brother’s hidden meaning before he stopped abruptly and fired at Hiccup.  
Expecting something of the sort, Hiccup rolled out of the Plasma Blast’s path as he also drew his shield and turned to face Toothless. Mask down, shield ready and sword drawn—his grin hidden under the mask.

Leaves rustled as men walked through the forest, old leaves from last fall still crunching at their footsteps. The small party of a half-dozen men treading as carefully as they could. One of the men asked in lead man, “Sir, why are we going through the forest?”  
The lead man turned, his face hidden beneath purple fabric. “We go this way because we can make faster time than trying to go through Roman checkpoints.”  
The man sighed but didn’t risk arguing with his leader so nodded. The lead man returned to his task at hand, swiftly making their way through the land. He silently grumbled at the fact that he was forced to work with the group, he would much rather work alone—it was faster and more efficient. But there was nothing to be done about it right now so he went with it.  
They picked up the pace slightly and arrived at the edge of the forest’s edge, the Mediterranean not a hundred feet from them. They turned and began walking along the forest’s edge, staying close so they could quickly cut back through in order to head off their bounty.  
The lead man stopped suddenly and held up a hand, the others stopping instantly. His head turned, as if listening to something, while the others just looked around confused. A man who was in the middle of the procession asked, quietly, “Why are we stopped?”  
The lead man only turned his head and glared. A look clearly saying ‘shut up’. They stayed silent for another minute before they all heard something, a faith but strong whistle. The men all looked at each other confused and looked around. An explosion was heard from far above their heads, in the clouds.  
The men all jumped and one said, trying to act calm, “Ha! It was just a bit of thunder.”  
The lead man looked up, “Thunder on a lightly cloudy day? No. That was an explosion.”  
“What could have caused, uh, the explosion?”  
The lead man grinned under his mask, “A dragon.”  
The men all looked at each other and laughed. “A dragon of myth? I think you’ve been on something.”  
The lead man growled, “Where have you been that I have not?”  
There was silence from all, all knowing that this man had traveled farther than any of them combined.  
“I thought so.” He fell silent for a moment as the skies grew quiet again before the faintest of whistles could be heard, rapidly growing fainter as a sign of the source traveling farther away. “I wonder…what dragon it would be exactly.”  
The men eyed his cautiously, “How many dragons have you seen, sir?”  
His eyes sparkled in amusement, though of a twisted sort. “More than you could dream.”  
“What about the bounty we’re after?” The rear man asked.  
“What about it? Someone else can have it—it would be a small reward. I know a few who would pay well for a dragon, especially one which sounds to be so powerful.”

Hiccup whooped as he looked up at his brother, who was messing around and flying upside down. Toothless lowered slightly and bumped his head against Hiccup’s. “I wonder if mom and dad had been here before?”  
Hiccup shrugged, “I don’t know bud. They said that they had been to a lot of places…I wonder if my mother had lived in this area.” He grinned, “I guess we’ll have to ask them when we finally see them again.”  
Toothless frowned, “I don’t think they’ll be happy to hear that we’ve traveled so far from the Archipelago.”  
“Well what about it? They aren’t here to tell us no. Besides, we need to know about the world around us. We wouldn’t know much if we stayed in the Archipelago.”  
Toothless righted himself and laughed, “I guess you’re right. A little lecture is worth this.”  
“A little lecture?” Hiccup asked, “We’ll be lucky if it’s only a week long. You remember the Outcast attack when I was young?”  
Toothless shuddered, “You’re right. That was probably tame compared to what we’ll get.”  
Hiccup looked down through the clouds of dawn, “There’s a city down there…I’m going to check it out.”  
Toothless huffed, “Sure, just leave me alone, again.”  
“Oh quite griping.” Hiccup rolled his eyes.  
He dropped down and tucked in wings away before walking closer to the city. For the briefest of moments a large shadow past over him before darting back into the cover of the clouds. Hiccup smiled to himself before hurrying to the city, eager to see what it held.  
He entered and was met with loud noises and hurrying people. Fascinated by the sight of a true city Hiccup could only stare for a good long minute as he took it all in. He passed several stores and traders trying to sell their wares. They were shouting out what it was that they were selling, some even coming over to him in their effort to sell.  
Hiccup continued to walk and passed by a stall, “Jewels and pearls! The biggest pearls in Naples!”  
So that’s where I am, Naples. Hiccup noted mentally so he could consult his map. Speaking of maps, his current map was a bit out of range of where he was at. He frowned, where would he find someone who had maps in this place? It was huge, as it was a city. He walked over to a meat seller and asked, again in Latin, “Excuse me sir.”  
The man turned with a smile, “You want to buy some meat? Best venison in all of Naples.”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, I’m just passing through and have plenty of food. I was just wanting to know where I could find a map maker.”  
The smile dropped from his face, “A map maker eh? Well, I think there’s might be one a few miles down, nearer to the docs and eastern gate entrance.”  
Hiccup grinned, “Thanks.”  
He left quickly and made his way through the city, grateful for his lithe frame—it making it that much easier to weave in and through people inhabiting such a crowded place. He reached the map maker’s residence shortly before nightfall and entered. It strangely felt more like home than his own home had. The smell of paper and ink permeated every inch of the room, along with a bright, crackling fire in the hearth.  
A man entered the larger room while wiping something dark, ink if Hiccup had to guess, off his hands. “Hello, what can I do for you?”  
Hiccup stepped forward, “I’m looking for a map.”  
He gestured around, “I have several, what exactly are you looking for.”  
“Uh, what’s the most informative map you have?”  
“Sea or land?”  
“Land.”  
The man walked over to a far section of wall and brought a few to Hiccup. “This one shows a relative population size, and this one shows the most amount of land anyone’s been able to choreograph as of yet—there is still much missing but…”  
Hiccup picked up the second one. “This’ll do. How much?”  
He left a little while later, having taken a while to barter and bring the price down. Hiccup could tell the man enjoyed the process, even if Hiccup himself hadn’t really. Carefully, he folded the map and tucked it into his chest armor where it would be best protected and began to make his way out of the city.  
Hiccup hadn’t gone more than a few blocks when the sun dipped below the horizon and the world was plunged into darkness. The stars light the sky, casting almost as much light as the moon. He smiled to himself, darkness concealing his smile, as he walked along the mostly deserted street. A few people, mainly men who looked to be up to no good, inhabited the sleepy city. Hiccup gave the men a wide berth but they didn’t bother him.  
He was near the northern gate when he heard someone saying something, though it was muted by the distance and walls. However what alarmed Hiccup was the feelings of terror and greed. Gritting his teeth, he silently drew his sword and cautiously made his way toward the disturbance.  
He found it on another street, parallel to the one he had been on, and completely deserted. A middle aged man and a young woman stood, the man in front of the woman, near a wall as three others, Hiccup couldn’t identify their gender, approached them.  
Hiccup growled, anger rising rapidly, as he identified the situation. “Hey! You want a fight, come at me.”  
The three turned, surprised, while the leader of the three approached him, “Alright them. That’s a nice looking sword you got there, know how to use it?”  
He charged Hiccup and he blocked his attacker. Hiccup’s attacker swung at him a few more times to which Hiccup blocked before he drew his shield and connected it with the man’s stomach then hit him on the nape of the skull with the hilt of his sword.  
Hiccup looked up to see the other two gone and turned to the man and woman, “Are you alright?”  
The man nodded while the woman answered, “We are now. Thank you stranger.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Name’s Night Rider.”  
The man shook his hand, “Then thank you Night Rider.”  
They hurried off before anything else could happen and Hiccup sheathed his sword, eager now to get out of the city. He neared the gate, it within his sight and only a few hundred steps away when a hand roughly grabbed his arm. He turned to see a Roman guard, looking none too pleased. “Can I help you?”  
The guard pulled him over a few steps, “Depends, come with me.”  
Hiccup rolled his eyes but followed, the guard letting him go but kept him close. They walked back to a street corner, where two women stood—scrapped and a bit bloodied. At the sight of Hiccup one of them shrieked while the other pointed and yelled, “That’s him! He’s the one who attacked us!”  
Hiccup blinked in surprise, it taking him a second to realize what was happening before he went wide eyed. “What? Are you serious?”  
The guard turned to Hiccup and grabbed his closest arm, “What do you have to say about this?”  
Hiccup glared at the two women, “Nothing but the fact that they’re lying. I never touched them.”  
One of the woman held the other close while she sobbed, “You are the liar! Do you honestly believe this foreigner, armed and ready to hurt my sister and me just because we didn’t do what he wanted?”  
“What?!” Hiccup shouted, “Cut the yack dung woman. I never touched you or your sister, all-”  
He was cut off by a rough shove from the guard, “Alright, come on.”  
“Where are we going?” Hiccup asked.  
The guard growled, “To the stockades for the night. Then we’ll move you somewhere else.”  
“You honestly believe them!?” Hiccup asked in disbelief.  
The guard pushed him forwards again. “More than you.”  
They reached the prison and they removed Hiccup’s sword and shield before pushing him into a cell. He glared at the door as he crossed his arms and sat on the little amount of hay provided.  
He could feel his wings twitching in irritation. Not only had he managed to make himself a criminal, for something besides helping dragons—but also landed himself in prison and about to be shipped off to Thor knows where—his weapons gone somewhere, in heavy security no doubt—and he had no way to get ahold of Toothless, who no doubt probably saw what happened and is probably seething at the moment. Both at Hiccup and the Roman.  
Hiccup groaned and buried his head in his knees, out of everyone in the world…it had to be Romans.

Hiccup had a rather rude awakening in the morning, a guard yelling him until he got up. He was dragged out to where several other men were also standing, all being chained and linked together by a longer chain. Great, Hiccup thought while resisting the urge to role his eyes.  
He was shoved into the midst of them and Hiccup gagged slightly at the stench of the men. It smelled worse than Gobber when he hadn’t bathed in over a month. Another guard chained his wrists together before connecting it to the longer link then doing the with his waist before moving on to the man behind him.  
Half-hour later they were moving. They left through a side entrance in the wall that was connected directly to the prison and so eluding most of the business of the city. Hiccup was dragged along with the others for several hours before the stopped for a momentary break. Hiccup looked around before hesitantly asking the man in front of him, “W-Where are they taking us?”  
The man smirked. “To Rome no doubt, where we will either meet our end as Gladiators or as front line soldiers in Caesars army.”  
Hiccup paled at the thought. All the men around him looked like a soldier, Gladiator, or hardened criminal would. Not Viking-like but scary in their own right, Hiccup wasn’t sure if he would last long in either. The man in front of Hiccup then said, “Though, given your size, you might just be fed to the lions.”  
“Oh, well that’s much better.” Hiccup replied sarcastically.  
Hiccup craned his neck so he could see what the guards were doing. Two of them were going down the line, giving their prisoners something to drink so they wouldn’t die of thirst along the way. Leaning back a bit more he saw some more grouped around the small wagon. One of them held his sword. Hiccup sighed, relieved that they had brought his gear, though why they had eluded him.  
The other prisoners who weren’t getting a drink apparently also found some interest in watching the Romans. Another Roman grabbed a small hunk of metal out of wagon and laughed. The other Romans laughed also along with a few of the head prisoners who could hear what was being said.  
Hiccup’s eyes narrowed, irises widening, pupils growing and whites disappearing, as he looked on at the Romans. They were holding his shield, flipping it around, trying to figure out what it was or how it worked. One of them said something but Hiccup could only see his mouth moving as he pointed to Hiccup. The one holding his shield started to say something when he hit the activation switch and she shield burst open. Startled he dropped the shield with a mild shout of alarm. The other guards jumped then laughed at his dismay. All of the prisoners laughing also before he yelled at them to stop, while it didn’t quiet stop there where hushed chuckles from them.  
A minute later the guards yelled at them to get moving again. They walked for another several hours, well into the afternoon. Hiccup looked around nervously, wondering where Toothless was at and what was taking him. The clouds broke apart and he looked up, hoping and praying to see Toothless, but saw nothing but blue sky.  
He sighed and looked down at the ground, wondering how he was going to escape from this. The bushes rustled to the left and Hiccup saw a yellowish, brown bird fly out. He was about to look away when a shock of bright green caught his eye. Looking at it closer he gasped, “Toothless!” He said in a hushed whisper but delighted nonetheless.  
“Be ready Hiccup. You can see the guard’s movements better than I can in the air, call when the moment’s right.” Toothless warbled quietly to Hiccup.  
The men near Hiccup jumped at the sudden, quiet, sound. Looking around for its source but finding nothing.  
Hiccup looked back to where Toothless had been but saw nothing either, not blackness or green, just the empty foliage. He had to resist the desperate desire to scan the skies for his brother, but didn’t and instead he focused on the guards, on their movements and when the best time to strike would be.  
That time came an hour later, just before sunset. They stopped, planning to bed down from the night. Hiccup grinned, head bent down and his hair covering his eyes as the guards passed by, ensuring that they were not going anywhere, and preferably asleep for the time being.  
Many of the men did fall asleep rather quickly, tired from the day’s long walk and having nothing to stay up for. The guard prodded Hiccup, “Go to sleep.”  
Hiccup glared at him, “Maybe I would if you’d leave me alone.”  
The guard glared and hit Hiccup hard upside the head. Hiccup grunted from the impact but said nothing more as he watched him finish his rotation then settle in near the other guards. There was silence in the camp and in the skies for the next several minutes as Hiccup watched.  
Carefully, so as to not wake up the two near him before he intended, Hiccup cupped his hands and brought them near his mouth. He then took in a large breath before letting it out in a loud roar, a signal to Toothless. Everyone, guard and prisoner, jumped—instantly awake.  
The guards ran over to them, “Who was that! Tell us now or-”  
He stopped when a loud, ballistic, moaning fill the air around them. The Roman guards and prisoners looked around, eyes wide. They began to huddle together and a guard came nearer to Hiccup. Quickly Hiccup jerked the slackened chain and took down the surprised guard. As the others turned to help their fallen comrade and give Hiccup a descent beating, Toothless fired into the camp. Two Roman guards were thrown into the woods from the shockwave while the others, prisoners included, wildly searched the skies for the source of such a weapon.  
Hiccup used their momentary distraction to grab the stunned guard’s keys and unlock his chains. The other prisoners saw what he was doing and caught on quickly to what was happening. Hiccup threw off his chains when he was grabbed from behind by the other prisoner. Hiccup struggled in his grip, “Let me go!”  
He growled in his ear, “Give me, the key first and then I’ll let you go.”  
Hiccup kicked him in the knee and he hissed in pain, his grip on Hiccup only getting tighter. He growled, fighting back the pain. “Help a friend out.”   
The guards turned when they heard Hiccup’s struggles and the other prisoners rising a ruckus. The head guard yelled, “One of the prisoners is loose!”  
The others turned to see Hiccup struggling in the other prisoner’s grip and hurried to restrain him again. However they were stopped by another plasma blast. The prisoner holding Hiccup took a step back in shock, allowing Hiccup enough room to undue his vest and spread his wings out. Nocking the already stunned man back.  
The guards saw Hiccup break free and rushed him. Hiccup blocked a swipe of a sword with the keys he still held onto before shoving him back. The other guards went to charge him and Hiccup flared his wings, giving the guards another shock, as he flapped quickly to the cart and grabbed his sword and shield.  
He turned to leave when Toothless shouted his name before releasing another plasma blast and landing on top of a guard who had raised his sword to throw it at Hiccup. The guard shrunk under Toothless’ grip, Toothless snarling at him.  
The party grew quiet and the prisoner who had been behind Hiccup asked, “What are you?”  
Hiccup had found his helmet and put it on so his face was obscured. “I’m Night Rider. What I am is not important.”  
Without another second wasted Hiccup quickly flew off, Toothless following after giving one last threatening growl.  
Once they were safely away Toothless growled at Hiccup. “What happened to personal safety?! This is not what I meant by let’s explore, Hiccup! You had me worried sick, don’t you ever do that to me again! Do you understand me Halfling?!”  
Hiccup shrunk a bit under Toothless rant, “I’m sorry bud. I didn’t mean for it to happen.”  
Toothless flew beneath Hiccup as he faltered a bit from exhaustion. “Hiccup, please. Don’t put me through that again. I won’t leave your side again, I don’t care what comes from it.”  
Hiccup hugged his brother as he laid his head tiredly on him. “Alright, thank you Toothless.”  
Toothless warbled softly, happier and very relieved to have his brother safely resting on his back. Saying softly so as not to wake his sleeping Halfling, “I mean it. I’m your protector, I won’t leave your side again.”

A crew of a dozen men or so walked down a road. They had just put into port at seaside city of Avellino. Buying a few supplies before leaving a shop; however, not all of their number was together. One man remained, hidden behind a wall of items. A Roman guard spoke to another guard, though they were obviously in different battalions. “I’m telling you Crispus, the guy had wings, huge ones!”  
Crispus laughed, “Faustus, I think you might have been a tad tired.”  
“I’m not delirious!” Faustus hissed, “And there was this, huge, black, lizard, thing.”  
Crispus laughed again, “You know how to play a guy, I’ll give you that.”  
The man, still hidden by the wall of items, watched as a foreigner became interested and made his way over. “I am trader Johan. May I inquire about this, winged man?”  
Faustus looked proud, finally having someone who would believe him. “Of course.”  
Johan took a seat next to him, “Where was it that you saw him?”  
“He was in a chain of prisoners, I don’t know why exactly he was put there.”  
“Well?” Johan asked.  
The hidden man leaned closer, straining to hear the now quieter voices. Faustus continued, “He was pretty quiet from what I saw, until the sun went down that is.”  
There was a pregnant pause for effect before he said, even quieter, “Then this blast of bluish, purple light came at us from the sky.”  
“Lightning?” Crispus asked, not having heard this part.  
Faustus shrugged, “I don’t know exactly. But in the confusion, this, this, Night Rider disarmed a guard and broke his chains…he broke the chains! Then he took out several of the guards before this black beast from the heaven dropped on top of me.”  
Johan nodded in interest, he seemed to be thinking about something as Crispus said, quietly and a bit shakily, “Could he be sent from Jupiter? If so, we may have just angered the gods by imprisoning a herald of Jupiter’s power. Could you see the beast clearly?”  
Faustus shook his head, “No. Nothing other than it was huge, black, scaly, and had demon wings.”  
The two men looked over at Johan, “Do you have any idea what this might be?”  
Johan stroked his beard. “I have seen and heard of many things in my travels…but this beast sounds as though it may be a dragon, a dragon from the north by your description.”  
Crispus paled and Faustus was almost as white as a sheet, “By Jupiter we was a herald. If he could command such a beast.”  
Johan looked at him in interest, “You said that Night Rider had wings?”  
Faustus nodded, “Yes, identical to the ones the beast, dragon had.” He paused and looked at Johan, “You sound as if you know him.”  
Johan shook his head, “Oh no, I do not. But stories have begun to circle around about a man who rides a Night Fury and goes by the name Night Rider. He’s been fairly reclusive, only in the far north—until now. I wonder what he is looking for down here?”  
Faustus shuddered, “I don’t know, I just pray that the gods won’t be mad.”  
Johan laughed, “I’m sure they won’t. From what I know, Night Rider can have his own fair share of trouble, intentional or otherwise.”  
Johan left and the two Roman guards returned to their quiet chit-chat. The man who had been hiding grinned under his mask. His target may have just grown.


	16. Chapter 16

The duo had stopped to rest for the next two days. Staying at the edge of Italy before crossing the small distance to the land across the water, a country known as Greece. Toothless who had yet to leave Hiccup’s side, or at least eye range, flew right next to his brother before they landed for a bit on an island. It was very warm, Hiccup stretched his wings and lightly flapped them a few times before letting them rest against his back again.  
Looking around he saw a fairly flat land, grass gracefully bending in the light breeze while a small grove of skinny trees swayed. Toothless shook himself and grinned madly, tongue hanging out as his head tilted. “Hiccup…”  
Hiccup looked out at the grass that was flowing and groaned, “Toothless, no, NO!”  
It was too late, Toothless had already run over to the field and was blissfully rolling around, “I can’t see how you don’t find this heavenly.”  
Hiccup stood at the edge of the field and fingered the grass, “Eh, it’s just soft grass.”  
Walking through the field to Toothless he grabbed his saddle and tried to pull him. “No, come on Hiccup.” Toothless whined.  
Hiccup flapped his wings, trying to pull Toothless away, but failed when he simply stood up. “Finally, come on we should find-Ah!”  
Toothless pounced on Hiccup and pulled him deeper into the grass. Hiccup laid under his tail for a moment, stunned, while Toothless just purred. Frowning, Hiccup pushed the tail off, “Toothless!”  
“Hiccup!” Toothless shot right back. “We’ve been flying for a while now, taking a small break won’t kill us.”  
Hiccup said flatly, “But if you don’t get out now I’ll never get you out.”  
Toothless flicked his tail and tripped Hiccup, laughing as Hiccup poked his head above the top of the grass. Only the top of his head and his glaring eyes could be seen. They stared at each other for a minute before Hiccup fell backwards and groaned.  
He could hear Toothless purring happily and closed his eyes, feeling the warm breeze brush by. His wings twitched as the wind blew some grass across them, without thinking he beat them gently against the grass. He hummed quietly, the grass against the scales on his wings felt wonderful.

They had left the island a day ago and were traveling across the majority of land by night. Not much had happened, they would pass the occasional village but nothing major. Hiccup was relieved when they realized that they were out of Roman territory, apparently the Romans and Greeks don’t get along to well.  
Hiccup grinned as he sped through the air, they had spotted a fair sized city in the distance and Hiccup was wanting to explore it. Toothless huffed, rather unhappy. “Hiccup, this is a terrible idea. Don’t you remember what happened last time?”  
“Yeah, I want answers and I can’t get them if we don’t dare a little. I’m sure it’ll be fine. From what I know Argos isn’t as strict as Sparta, I’m sure there won’t be a problem.”  
“That’s what you said last time. This is a horrible idea. Why can’t you go to one of the villages?”  
Hiccup rolled his eyes, “Because, information isn’t as predominant there as it is in cities.”  
“Neither is the danger.” Toothless huffed, “Do you know how hard it’ll be to follow you?”  
“I don’t need a body guard.” Hiccup argued.  
Toothless looked at him flatly before turning and looking straight ahead, “I’ll believe it when trouble stops looking for you.”  
“Now that isn’t fair.”  
“Is too!” Toothless replied, “You’ve gotten yourself into more trouble over the years…do you know how hard it is to roof hop without being noticed?”  
“Toothless…” Hiccup drawled on like a child, “Nothing you say will get us out of this.”  
He only huffed, ignoring Hiccup for the rest of the flight.  
Hiccup and Toothless landed half-an-hour later and Hiccup made his way into Argos, Toothless following close behind—hiding in the shadows and on top of roves. They wandered the city for a while, Hiccup asking a few question concerning the city and its past every once in a while but mainly just looking around.  
Toothless watched as Hiccup neared a stand, a stand full of paper. Toothless huffed and shook his head, of course his brother would be drawn to something like that.  
Hiccup walked up to the stall and looked the paper and found them to be scrolls. He grinned, there were several scrolls, more than he had ever seen in one place and all together. The tender walked up behind him, “Does something interest you?”  
Hiccup stood quickly, “Uh, not yet, I was just looking.”  
The man smiled, “Could I be of some assistance?”  
“Maybe?” Hiccup said, “Do you have any information about dragons?”  
The man laughed, “Of course, there are several dragons throughout our history. Which would you want to know about?”  
Hiccup blinked, “All?”  
“Well that’s quite a lot…and I’m afraid I don’t know that much about them all.”  
“Oh,” Hiccup sighed.  
“But-” The man continued, “There is the library in Alexandria, heard of it?”  
“No.” Hiccup said slowly, but very interested.  
The man grinned, “Well it is the largest library in the known world. It would no doubt hold the answers you’re looking for.”  
Hiccup brightened, “Thank you kindly.”  
Leaving Argos quickly Hiccup and Toothless reunited. Toothless flapped as he asked, “Why do I have a feeling we’re going to Alexandria?”  
Hiccup grinned, “Because we are.”  
Toothless snorted, “I just hope the librarian there is better tempered than the one people mention in the Archipelago.”  
“Well, in their defense, very few Vikings actually like books so…”  
“Still.” Toothless said shaking his head.

The flight there was fairly relaxed. They sat at the edge of an island known as Crete while Hiccup consulted his map, looking up he pointed southwest, “Alexandria is in that direction, in Egypt.”  
Toothless stretched, yawning as he woke up from his small nap, “They can’t be any worse than the Romans…come on, I want to see what they have there on dragons.”  
Hiccup grinned, “Now you’re interested in this expedition?”  
Toothless’ heavy breath ruffled Hiccup’s hair as he looked down at the map, “I was always interested, I was just a little tired after not finding anything after a while.”  
Hiccup smiled gently, “Well let’s hope this will be a good start.”  
He picked up the map, folded it, and put it back into a saddlebag before taking flight again. Little over half a day later they reached Alexandria. It was unlike anything either had seen before, sand everywhere. Some of the building where made of some kind of solid sand. Hiccup and Toothless did a flyby first, everything pretty quiet.  
Flying over the city again Hiccup said, “I say let’s land by that building.” He pointed to a fairly large, sand-brick, multi-pillar, structure.   
Toothless nodded, “Sounds good enough.”  
They landed inside the gates and Hiccup wrapped up his wings. Making their way inside, Toothless followed closely, not bothering to hide himself. Once inside Hiccup gasped, the wall were lined with books and scrolls. The sight of them all made Hiccup’s head spin and fill him with a childish joy.  
He walked over to the closest book shelf and opened a scroll. Written in Latin, it described a Roman government, the Senate and how it all worked. Vastly interested, Hiccup sat down and began intently reading the scroll. Toothless sighed, knowing Hiccup wouldn’t be budged, so curled up around him and watched, half slept, as his brother read.  
It was nearly an hour before Hiccup finished the scroll. He sat there thinking for a moment before putting it back and walking a little ways and grabbing another, this one depicting the tactics and battles fought by a man known as Hannibal. Hiccup was entranced by the battle plans and tactics he had made, how they won him many battles. They made him stop and think, and smile gently. Hannibal relied on his mind more than strength, and in doing so saving more of his men’s lives. Toothless rested his head in Hiccup’s lap, happy that his brother was happy.  
So enraptured in the scroll Hiccup missed the soft footsteps that neared. Neither dragon noticed the person until he cleared his throat, startling the two so greatly that Toothless readied a plasma blast and Hiccup had Endeavor drawn. What they saw, however, was not what either was expecting.  
The man in front of them was bald and looked to be of Grecian decent as well as Egyptian. The man held up his hands, “Pardon me, I did not mean to scare you so.”  
Hiccup took a second to analyze the situation before he smiled sheepishly and sheathed Endeavor. “Sorry about that.”  
The man nodded but looked at Toothless warily, “May I asked what that is?”  
Hiccup pursed his lips together in a flat line, “That’s Toothless…he’s a dragon.”  
The man’s eyes widened slightly, “A dragon?”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yes.” He still looked very unsure of the whole situation, adrenaline still rushing through his system.  
“I apologize for my manors, I am Nassor. Welcome to the Library of Alexandria…even though it is past the usual hours.”  
Hiccup rubbed the back of his head, “Uh, sorry ‘bout that…didn’t think coming during usual hours would be the best idea.”  
The man, Nassor, waved it off. “Perfectly alright, knowledge should have no time restraints.” He looked at the scroll which Hiccup was picking up off the floor and rolling back up. Nassor smiled as he recognized it, “Hannibal, an amazing strategist—even if the Romans didn’t particularly like it at the time.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah, that was some pretty amazing stuff he thought of.”  
Nassor took the scroll after Hiccup had finished rolling it and placed it back on its designated shelf, “What brings you to the Library?”  
Hiccup answered with ease, “I’m curious about dragons.”  
Nassor blinked, “Any particular one?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “Not really, I’m pretty curious about them all.”  
Nassor nodded, “I do believe there are a few scrolls, follow me.”  
They wandered through the Library for a few minutes, down several corridors and countless turns, before Nassor finally stopped. “This is where such knowledge of magical creature are kept.”  
With that Nassor left to do, Hiccup didn’t know what. Hiccup grinned, looking at the shelves full of information. He fingered several until he found one on stories of dragons. Opening the scroll he found a few stories on dragons in particular, or dragons in the sense he was used to. He didn’t quite know if he would consider the, Hydra a dragon or not—but it was interesting nonetheless.  
Finishing the scroll shortly thereafter he returned it to its placed and looked for another. He stopped at one which was actually a book and looked at it curiously, it looked strangely familiar but that could just be because most books looked like that.  
He grabbed it and looked at the front, eyes wide in surprise. Engraved on the cover was the emblem for a Stoker class dragon. Hurriedly he opened the book and found it to be an almost exact copy of the Book of Dragons the Hooligans had on Berk.  
Flipping through the pages made Hiccup’s stomach turn for two reasons; one, because it was exactly like the one on Berk, at the end of every page it said ‘kill on sight’ and depicted all dragons as nothing but killing, thoughtless and emotionless machines. The second reason was that it strangely made him homesick for Berk, for the first time since he left—Hiccup was wondering if he made the right decision to leave. The more he thought about it the more he wasn’t sure. He stared at the book but he didn’t actually read it, his eyes fogging with thought.  
He had left Berk, he had wanted to leave Berk. They had treated him horribly most of his life but he still felt connected, like even now it was his responsibility—a responsibility he was neglecting. He had left Berk without an heir, and his father would no doubt make Snotlout the new heir. While the thought disgusted him that someone like Snotlout would be placed in that position it also made him think, how long would Berk last with a chief like that? He stopped and looked down, how long would Berk last with a chief like me? They’d all probably leave the day my dad died…He sighed, his dad. What was he doing now? He was probably furious at him for leaving and would no doubt skin him alive if he ever came back for being so childish.  
The book slammed shut as Hiccup growled, why’d he care anyway? He knew what he was leaving behind and couldn’t care less….could he? Yes, he couldn’t care less, he left and that was that. He had a new life, a new job now—protecting his dragons from the Dragon Hunters and figuring out his past, filling in the hole that Obsidian and Blair couldn’t, or wouldn’t.  
Hiccup placed the book on the shelf and rifled through several others. Learning little. Dragons happened to be one of those subjects where little is known, unfortunately, so finding any good or halfway reliable information is hard to come by. Most of what Hiccup found was old, tales of heroes and knights battling lizard-like beasts, only a few of which Hiccup could or would classify as a dragon. He did find a bit on Norse dragons and a couple others.  
A picture was drawn in the book of a dragon, who likeness was astonishingly familiar. The picture depicting a regal dragon with a knight on it back as the two charged into a fray of enemy lines. He stared at it for a minute before a memory cropped up.  
“V-v.”  
Valka looked at him in surprise, “What?”  
He smiled innocently and did it again, “Vav.”  
She smiled, “Valcor?” Hiccup squealed.  
“Val-car! Val-car!” He remembered holding a dragon close, the one his mother had made him before…he couldn’t remember what happened to it, something about a fishing trip and being startled. “Teil!”  
She laughed again, “You like those stories?” Hiccup nodded vigorously and she shook her head smiling. “Well, they aren’t just stories, they are our past. Who we once were, and who we will one day be again.”  
The memory faded, it was one of the only memories he had of his mother before she left. And how he could remember it in the first place was something beyond him. Hiccup looked at the picture again and muttered, “A Fyrest.”  
Toothless peeked over his shoulder, “Is that what your mother was?”  
Hiccup nodded, “I think so…”  
He fiddled with his ring that his mother had left him to guard when he was young, a nervous habit he had developed over the years. Toothless nudged him, “Anything about them?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “Not much, this picture just goes with a story about a knight of…wait…”  
Toothless perked up, “What?”  
“Gawain, this is a picture of Gawain. One of the knights of King Author’s inner courts…I don’t remember mom or dad ever mentioning anything about a knight riding a dragon.”  
“They didn’t.” Toothless said simply.  
Hiccup looked at the picture again, vaguely remembering what the stuffed dragon his mother had given him looked like. “I wonder why, the dragon looks too accurate to a Fyrest to be made up…Great, I finally find something and all it does is make more questions.”  
Toothless purred, “Sorry Hiccup, did you find anything else, anything about any other dragon species?”  
Hiccup nodded, “There were several stories about dragons in lands China and Japan. They seem far more believable than the once in Greece or Rome…I think we should head in that direction.”  
“Where are they at, exactly?” Toothless asked.  
Hiccup shrugged, “I don’t know. My maps don’t go that far, at least not accurately. They were more drawn in an ‘I think’ kind of way…I’m sure that I can find something here though.”  
He rolled up the scroll and stopped momentarily at the picture of the Fyrest before rolling it up the rest of the way and returning it to the shelf. Hiccup stood and Toothless followed, arching his back and stretching his wings as he did so. Toothless started after Hiccup who was walking down the corridor, “Where are we going?”  
Hiccup turned his head to Toothless, “I think I saw a section full of maps, it’ll be the best place to start.”  
They found the section shortly, it being very well mark with maps open and displayed on the walls. Hiccup grinned as he found one that displayed the Orient. Reaching into the saddle bag he withdrew his map. Unfolding it he tore out some paper in his journal and held them up to Toothless, “Would you…?”  
Toothless shook his head in amusement before licking it. Hiccup stuck it to his map…or conglomeration of maps, having pieced them all together throughout his travels. He took out a pencil and quickly, but accurately, sketched/traced the maps above him. Several minutes later he was done. Toothless sniffed the parchment, “Ready?”  
Hiccup nodded, “Ready.”

A figure stood up from a kneeling position as he observed the ground at the edge of a forest. A masked face looked to the city of Argos before turning to a man awaiting orders. He straitened once he saw he was being looked at. “Sir, the men have scoured the city with only a few leads…are you sure that this, dragon came through here? I mean, if it was a dragon why would it not be farther away by now?”  
The masked man grinned, although no one saw it, “That Roman prison line no doubt held it up for a short while. And they are not here, not anymore. These scorch marks are a few days old, but they are not far.”  
He paused before walking towards the city, “Take me to these, leads.”  
They walked for several minutes before entering the city of Argos, then traveling to a few venders. Most could only say they had seen the stranger but had nothing past that. An annoyed look came into the eyes under the hood as they approached their last ‘lead’. The vender turned to him in mild surprise, “Can I help you?”  
Calculated eyes observed the stall full of books. “Possibly, have you seen a stranger come through here? Young man, lanky, of possible northern decent?” He asked, using the information he had gathered from the Roman guards who had been with the prison escort and from the rumors spreading about Night Rider.  
The vender looked thoughtful before answering, “I might have, I see many people. May I know who it is I am speaking to?”  
“My name is Krogan, now what about him?”  
The vender nodded, “I do recall a stranger that would fit that description.”  
“Where did he go?”  
The vender shrugged, “I am not entirely sure. He came asking about dragons but I have very little knowledge of them so I told him about the Alexandrian Library. That would be my best guess.”  
Krogan nodded and walked away, the other men following him. Once outside the city again one of them asked, sounding tired, “Are we going to Alexandria now?”  
Krogan was silent for a minute before answering, “No. Night Rider is curious about dragons, he is no doubt looking for them. I know of places where many dragons live and he will no doubt head in that direction once he learns of them—we will head him off.”  
“But how are we going to catch him? If he has a dragon they are probably long gone by now.”  
Krogan shook his head, “Even a dragon must rest and eat. I already have men stationed at various points to keep an eye out for him. We will head northeast until I receive word of otherwise.”


	17. Chapter 17

Toothless and Hiccup flew to the east out of Egypt and Alexandria. They had followed the body of water which they later learned was the Mediterranean Sea. Passing over ‘Amman in the blackness of night they adjusted their course north a bit—while wanting to find to find the dragons Hiccup had read about they still wanted to enjoy and take a little time on their trip.  
Hiccup flipped in the air, the mask masking his smile, while Toothless flew upside-down with his tongue hanging out. Hiccup flipped and mimicked Toothless, minus the tongue, before diving through the clouds and creating a small hole along with an after plume of clouds. The two glided in darkness below the clouds with only the barest of outlines showing them on the barely darker clouds, the world none the wiser to them.

A bird chirped as it landed near a man. A dark purple hood looked up at it before grabbing it. Pulling off a note tied to its leg, he put the bird into a small cage. Reading the note before crumpling the paper in satisfaction Krogan stood and turned to the men who had made camp for the night, “We move out now.”  
The men looked up in surprise, “What, now?”  
“Now.” Krogan growled, “One of our men just saw the targets pass over ‘Amman a few hours ago. They’ll be arriving in this area shortly.”

Hiccup swooped down through the lonely woods with Toothless in hot pursuit. The wing beats from Hiccup disturbing the leaves as Toothless tore through them and occasionally jumping from tree to tree. Hiccup grinned as he banked hard to the left before turning almost sideways to bank right, his eyes narrowed in determination and concentration in the turns—the forest leaving very little room for error.  
He twirled and folded his wings in as he shot through a wall and large tree, Toothless jumping and landing heavily on the ground on the other side. The trees suddenly broke and a large river gently flowed between the two sides of trees, the moon light softly glistening off the ripples.  
Just as suddenly as Hiccup had made the turns he splayed his wings and came to an almost immediate stop as he gazed at the river. Toothless barreled out of the forest and ran into Hiccup, sending him tumbling into the water. His wings flailed as he righted himself. Forest met acid green in a scowl as the water coursed by him.  
Hiccup sat in the water for a minute, the water reaching his chest while the rock and pebbles underneath moved as he settled a bit. Wings flapped suddenly as Hiccup cried, “Toothless!!”  
Said dragon’s ears laid flat on his head as he looked at Hiccup with wide eyes, “Yes?”  
Hiccup tromped out of the water and stormed up to Toothless, “What was that for!? That water’s freezing!”  
Toothless bumped Hiccup’s chest lightly as he asked cheekily, “Well its home right?”  
Hiccup’s glare held, “I don’t want to be on Berk, I am quite enjoying the warmth here—it is absolutely spectacular.”  
Toothless laughed deeply before saying, “Well maybe your mom’s from around here somewhere. And I’ll admit, the warmth is quite nice.”  
Hiccup sighed as he took off his sword and began drying it before drying the rest of him and grabbing dry clothes. Toothless returned with fresh trout and Hiccup grabbed one gratefully before cooking it. The two ate and teased each other for a while longer before the sun began to rise. Hiccup leaned into Toothless as his wing draped over him.  
They watched it for another few minutes until it was brightly shining in the sky, unhindered. Toothless rolled slightly and fully enveloped Hiccup, tucking him away into darkness once he bowed his head. Heavy breath ruffled Hiccup’s hair before a tired tongue made its way across his face. “Gah!”  
Hiccup tried to stop him but Toothless held him captive as he coddled his brother for the moment, ignoring Hiccup’s protests. “Sleep well Halfling.”  
“You to bud.” Hiccup yawned, head resting against Toothless’ chest.

The sun shone down, signaling mid-day. Men were spread out just barely visible to each other as they searched. Calculated eyes searched through the thick trees and foliage for a dark shape. A twig snapped from behind Krogan and he whirled around with axe point to the intruder, “Stay silent. We do not know the extent of the dragon’s hearing.”  
The man paled but said quietly, “Sorry, but we’ve found it.”  
He silently pointed to the northwest and Krogan marched off and found his target lying peacefully in the small patch of grass by the river. His eyes searched for the supposed man with it but found no one. He frowned, slightly disappointed, but gave the signal to strike.

Hiccup groaned as he woke up from his sleep too early. There had been nothing wrong; Toothless was fine, he was warm and comfortable and not hungry…so why was he awake? A sudden surge of feelings overwhelmed Hiccup in his blackness and made him feel surrounded and very threatened.  
He jerked, trying to wake up Toothless, “Toothless? Toothless!?”  
The dragon stirred around him but a heavy huff was his only answer. Frantic now Hiccup began thrashing in Toothless’ grasp and yelled, “Toothless!!”  
Black ears suddenly shot up and his acid eyes opened in surprise as he looked at Hiccup momentarily before looking up and growling, “Hiccup stay down,”  
Hiccup’s breaths were labored from fear as Toothless tightened his hold in him, “W-what? Why what’s out there?”  
A charging yell grabbed Hiccup’s attention as he turned to look up. Toothless moved to shield him but for that half second it let Hiccup see a man running towards them, and he instantly knew what these feeling now were. They were one’s of a hunter about to claim their prize.  
“Toothless let me out, I can help!”  
Hiccup heard the whistle along with a terrified shout as Toothless blasted one of the men. Hiccup heard two more shots before Toothless suddenly stepped off of Hiccup and he looked around.  
Three men lay stunned or dead, Hiccup couldn’t tell at that moment in time, and at least another five attacked Toothless. Hiccup stood to help his brother when he yelled as he hit one away with his tail, “Hiccup get out of here!”  
He was about to protest when someone yelled, “There is Rider, grab him!”  
Hiccup turned to meet the closest attacker, Endeavor colliding with another sword. He tripped up his attacker and turned to meet the next closest source of malevolent feelings. He and the other man locked swords, Hiccup having to rely heavily on his skill as the man pressed heavily down on him.  
Through gritted teeth he managed to deflect his attacker’s sword. About to swing a blow at his attacker, Toothless shriek in pain. Hiccup whirled around to yell and help him when something tore through an unprotected patch on his arm. Nearly dropping his sword, Hiccup yelled as he stumbled and looked down. Protruding from his arm was an arrow.  
He heard Toothless unintelligibly yell in fury and pain as he blindly killed two of the men, “HICCUP!”  
His mind grew fuzzy as he lost his grip on Endeavor and grabbed the arrow—it was deep, far too deep to simply pull out. Putting a little pressure around the wound to try and stop the bleeding, Hiccup took a shaky step forward to yell to Toothless. However he didn’t make it another step or even utter a word before something hard hit the base of his skull and he blacked out instantly.  
Toothless watched Hiccup get hit and fall to the ground unconscious. His vision now red in rage he turned to Hiccup’s attacker to shot him when something else ripped into his shoulder and he shrieked again as another arrow dug in deep. He shook his head as he staggered before he fell, managing to get a glimpse and glare at a masked man, before he also fell unconscious.  
Three men remained either alive or conscious. Krogan, the one who knocked Hiccup out and one other who had been next to Krogan the whole time. Three of the downed men began to stir and hazily sit up. Krogan walked over to Toothless and crouched by the dragon’s unconscious form, looking intently at his head, “By the gods, that’s a Night Fury.”  
Turning to the two functional men he commanded, “Clean and wrap those wounds.”  
He stood and looked at the boy and dragon. Night Rider was no man, without his mask he was obviously just a boy, and a scrawny one at that. However that mattered little as he took in the boy’s wings. The Roman Guard wasn’t lying when he said that he had wings.  
Kneeling by him, Krogan felt the wings. From the tips that had cut through clouds to larger mass that contacted them to Hiccup himself. Curious, he removed Hiccup’s armor and lifted up the shirt to see the black scales meet pale human flesh. “You are a mystery, Night Rider.”  
He removed the rest of Hiccup’s armor before he took out a small healing pouch and began to remove the arrow and clean and wrap Hiccup’s wound.  
Little while later the other men had finished with Toothless and came over to Krogan who was finishing with Hiccup’s wound, Hiccup’s being deeper and more extensive than Toothless’ had. The lead man, the same one who had knocked hiccup out, asked, “Sir, what was in those arrows that suddenly disabled the dragon and Night Rider?”  
Krogan answered while picking up Hiccup and carrying him fireman style, “Dragon Root. A plant that grows mostly far up north, but it disables or puts dragons to sleep. It has the same effect on people as well but not as strong.”  
Depositing Hiccup next to Toothless he turned to the remaining five men, “Tie those two up, I’ll be back shortly.” He turned to walk away but suddenly stopped and turned back to them, a look of death in his eyes, “And if they escape you have better be dead.”  
With that he left and the men turned to look at each other before hurrying to do as they were told.

Hiccup moaned as he tried to snuggled into the darkness but found nothing there. Confused, he tried to move his hands to find the warm scales of Toothless but instead found something hard and rough restraining them. He snapped his eyes open as he remembered what had happened previous to him passing out.  
He was sitting in a cage, a rather small one at that. It was just barely large enough for him to sit comfortably and for his wings to brush the metal ceiling above. Wings? Craning his back to look back he saw his wings exposed, and not just that, he saw that all his armor had been stripped as well. Wide eyed, he tried to move but every move pulled on the ropes binding him. His wings were tied close to his back with ropes in an X like fashion across his chest. His hand were wrapped around and behind his wings, binding them even closer, and more ropes overlaid everything for good measure.  
He grit his teeth behind the rag that was tied over his mouth as he tried to move but was restricted in almost every movement. Mentally growling, Hiccup looked around his small prison before he realized, Toothless—where is Toothless?  
He was disturbed from his thoughts by a voice outside. He looked at the dark covering draped and tied down over the cage as he focused in on the words. They sounded small and high, like the words of a child, “Have you brought anything to trade?” A little girl Hiccup could tell asked.  
A gruff voice answered, “Nothing but a few simple furs.”  
An older voice answered, “Well what do they look like?”  
There was some movement before he heard the young girl’s voice again, “What’s in these cages?”  
A new voice answered her this time, a rough and cold voice. “Nothing for you. Rare and dangerous beasts that would kill you without a second thought.”  
There was a squeak for fear from the girl and Hiccup’s brow scrunched up. He doesn’t mean me and Toothless does he? Well I suppose he could, but he said beasts so Toothless must be near me…maybe right next to me.  
“Why would they do that?” The girl asked again, still sounding fearful.  
“Because they are thoughtless animals, worse than animals.”  
“What are you going to do with them? Kill them?”  
There was a deep, heartless laugh before an answer came, “No, not at the cost of several of my men’s lives.” The way said it gave Hiccup the impression that he really didn’t care about their lives but of the inconvenience it caused. “No…there are men who deal with beasts such as these, they’ll make sure that they will never bother you again.”  
“Oh…can I see one?”  
“No, run back to your father. We only stopped here for food.” While the girl may not have known, by his tone Hiccup heard the annoyance of having to stop—wherever they were at.  
There was several minutes of relative silence as the men resituated and packed before leaving. The wagon housing Hiccup’s cage jolted and threw him into the bars. Groaning quietly Hiccup righted himself and rested against the bars behind him.  
They traveled for a while, Hiccup couldn’t tell how long as he had no way to tell time, before they came to a stop. He listened intently and heard the crunching of leaves before there was a pause and a small grunt then light suddenly invaded the cage. Hiccup blinked several times before he could focus on his kidnapper.  
A masked man stood there watching him for a moment before he approached Hiccup and removed the gag. Hiccup took in several breaths, immensely relieved. The masked man looked at Hiccup with curiosity as he asked, “What are you?”  
Hiccup glared at him but said nothing. This only aggravated the man because he suddenly launched forward and grabbed a fistful of Hiccup’s hair and pulled him against the cage. A hiss of pain escaped Hiccup and his eyes clenched shut before he answered, “I’m a Halfling. What’s it to you?”  
The man released Hiccup’s hair and he sighed in relief. “It would be wise not to question or ignore me in the future as we do have your dragon.”  
A growl came from behind Hiccup and he turned to see Toothless in a similar predicament. “Toothless!” He turned to the man, “Let him go! We haven’t done anything to you!”  
A sparkle of amusement passed through his eyes as he answered, “No, not to us, but there are people who will pay well to own a Night Fury, who know, you might be just as valuable. I don’t know of any other Halflings living.”  
He turned to leave and Hiccup yelled, “Hey! We’re not something to be sold!”  
There was a chuckle, “You are now.”  
Hiccup yanked on his restraints before a searing pain sprung from his arm and he bit his tongue, a groan still escaping him. He looked down at his right arm to see a splotch of red, growing rapidly.  
He looked up when another man approached him and Hiccup glared. The man glared right back before he noticed Hiccup’s arm and called out, “Krogan! He’s reopened the wound.”  
Krogan sighed as he stopped and turned back around. He opened Hiccup’s cage and instructed, “Hold him so he does not try to run.”  
Hiccup looked between the two nervously as they unbound the top layer of ropes and his wrists before the other man gripped Hiccup tightly and pinned his chest and left arm. Krogan grabbed the injured right arm and rolled up his sleeve and undid several wrappings to reveal the rather nasty looking arrow wound, which had been made worse when Hiccup had ripped it open again.  
Krogan growled lowly, looking at it, as the man holding Hiccup asked, “Can’t you just wrap it back up?”  
Krogan sent the man a rather annoyed looked before shaking his head, “It will now require stiches.”  
He straightened and left and Hiccup tried to pry himself away from the man holding him but had little success when he grabbed his free wrist, “Hold still boy.”  
Hiccup growled when Krogan returned a moment later with another man. This new one grabbed his right arm and held it still as Krogan pulled out a needle and thread, Hiccup snarled at the sight and tried to pull away again.  
He had never had stitches in the past, the dragons always taking care of his wounds major and small. And he had never really had any major wounds bar the one he had received from Ryker but Swift, Toothless and Firestorm had managed to cauterize and seal the wound by, traditional dragon methods. And to be quite frank, he had seen Vikings receive stitches after battles and dragon fights, and while the older one who had had them several times barely flinched—Hiccup could still see quite clearly the pain the newer ones had been in and how much it seemed to hurt them.  
The hands tightened around him as the needle dug in, not deep but still incredibly painful. Hiccup bit his lip to keep from crying out as Toothless roared in fury at the sight of his brother’s pain, “Hiccup!”  
The dragon thrashed as much as he could in his cage but had little success at helping his brother. A minute later Krogan was done and cleaned the area around the wound before wrapping it again. They rebound Hiccup and placed him back in the cage. Krogan looked at Hiccup and growled, “Don’t do that again.”  
Hiccup said nothing but silently agreed. That was painful as all get out, not something he wanted to relive. Turning his head he saw Toothless again, “Toothless! Are you ok?”  
The dragon frowned deeply and mumbled due to the restraint over his muzzle to prevent him from shooting his fire, “Yes, my pride’s a bit hurt but I’ll live. What’s the plan?”  
Hiccup looked down, “I-I don’t have one.”  
Toothless cooed, “It’s ok Hiccup, we’ll think of something. I overheard them earlier while you were still out, they’re taking us back up north towards the Archipelago before they plan to do anything with us—so we have a while.”  
Hiccup nodded as Toothless continued, “They didn’t hurt too much did they?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “I’ll deal with it, they just closed my wound. I guess they don’t want me dead yet.”  
A man walked by and hit Hiccup’s cage, “Knock that off, yer giving me the creeps.”  
They started out again and didn’t stop until nightfall. They fed and watered the horses before making themselves a fire and settling down for the night. Hiccup leaned into the corner tiredly but couldn’t fall asleep with the thoughts and worries nagging at his mind. After an hour he finally managed a restless slumber.  
Something woke Hiccup up later that night, he couldn’t tell what it was—but it felt familiar, and comforting. Toothless’ ear plates lifted before he looked up, both of them looking at each other for a moment. A slight rustle came from the camp as one of the men moved before the forest fell silent again.  
Hiccup sighed as he rested his head against the bars again, staring at the metal roof with glazed eyes. A dark shadow passed by the edge of the camp and Hiccup sat up instantly, trying to track its movements. Toothless growled lowly at the blackness. Suddenly the dark shape of a person appeared right next to Hiccup and he bit back a yelp of surprise. The figure then quietly hushed Hiccup, “Calm down and stay quiet.”  
Hiccup watched him leave and called out quietly, “Wait, who are you?”  
But he was already gone. Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other again with curious and blank looks. Toothless warbled quietly, “I think he’s a friend.”  
Hiccup looked at him blankly, “Really? What gives you that idea? How do you know he’s not just trying to kidnap us like the others did?”  
“Well if that’s what you think of me I can leave you with the bounty hunters.” The figured said, startling Hiccup, standing next to his cage door with the keys in hand.  
Hiccup glared, “Just get us out of here and we’ll see what happens.”  
He unlocked the cage and Hiccup tumbled out. He then pulled out a small knife and cut the ropes binding him. The figure then searched through the keys to find the one to unlock the chains pinning Hiccup’s wings.  
He had just found the key when a shout from the camp caught their attention. The shoulders of Hiccup’s rescuer slumped, “Wonderful.” Shoving the key into Hiccup’s hands he drew a long sword and moved a few steps away from Hiccup to ward off the bounty hunters, “Get your dragon free.”  
Hiccup nodded quickly as he fumbled with the key to his chains, not wanting to be caught again by them. He glanced over at his rescuer and saw him engaged with the masked man, sword and axe clashing together with equal skill. Hiccup refocused on the lock and finally managed to get it unlocked.  
He quickly stood and flapped his wings to shake off the chains when shouts of the other hunters coming near garnered his attention. They ran straight towards him with weapons brandished. Instinctively Hiccup reached for Endeavor but to his horror didn’t find it there, though it made sense. He clutched the keys and prepared for the fight, Toothless being behind the charging men. His rescuer threw something towards them which exploded on impact.  
Without warning, Hiccup was suddenly yanked upwards and a long stream of fire spewed down onto the men below who were still in disarray. Hiccup looked at the long claws holding him before they dropped and Hiccup was released on the other side of the flames by Toothless. Turning around he saw a Monstrous Nightmare halfway looking at him and the halfway looking at the flaming wall, “Hurry.” He rumbled.  
Hiccup nodded and quickly unlocked Toothless cage before he undid the bindings. A minute later Toothless bounded out and dragged Hiccup with him. A figure suddenly appeared from around the flames as he quickly ran and yelled, “Blaze HELP!”  
The Nightmare took off and grabbed the man seconds before the masked man lunged to tackle him. Toothless was already in the air as the Nightmare lifted up again with the man, who had maneuvered onto his back.  
Krogan watched as the Night Fury and Halfling escaped and curled him hand into a fist, “We will meet again, Night Rider.”  
High in the sky Hiccup finally stopped shaking enough to relax on Toothless back as he warbled comfortingly. The Monstrous Nightmare flew in closer and the man said over the wind, “Land in about fifty klicks, I believe we have a bit to discuss.”  
Hiccup nodded wordlessly and Toothless followed behind them until they dived and landed in a fairly flat plain. Hiccup and his rescuer dismounted and approached as the dragons inspected one another.  
The man smiled, “Hello, are you hurt?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No…who are you and why did you do that?”  
The man chuckled, “You’re welcome. My name is Merlin and I-”  
“Wait, Merlin? Merlin, Merlin?”  
Merlin laughed even more at that as Toothless just stared in shock and Hiccup looked at him, highly unamused. “No. The Merlin you are thinking of Halfling is my great, great, grandfather.”  
Hiccup looked at him wide eyed and asked cautiously, “And how do you know about Halflings?”  
Merlin smiled coly, “It is a well-known fact in my family.”  
The Nightmare nudged Hiccup, sniffing him, “He has lost much of his original dragon scent.”  
Merlin frowned, “Well how long have they been humans, Blaze?”  
Blaze rolled his eyes, “The scent should still be there.”  
“Ignore him, he’s a bit grouchy because I woke him up.”  
“Uh, well thanks.” Hiccup rubbed the back of his head awkwardly before he looked up in surprise, “You can understand him?!”  
Merlin smiled, “Yes, like many things it is something that has been passed down through the generations.”  
“Whoa.” He breathed and gestured to Blaze, “How did you meet him?”  
“Found him years ago in the Russian mountains.”  
Blaze huffed, “Why I ever decided to stick with you I will never know.”  
Merlin frowned playfully before grabbing something, “Well deal with it. Oh, I believe this belongs to you…who are you by the way? Unless you want me to keep calling you Halfling.”  
“Night Rider.” Hiccup offered as he grabbed the bundle and opened it to reveal his armor and sword. He must have gotten it before he rescued me.  
Merlin smiled, “If that’s the way you want to play…I can tell you’re from the far north, by your looks, even if you are the smaller side, you’re Norse. I know they don’t give names like that.”  
Hiccup frowned, “It doesn’t matter.”  
Merlin crossed his arms, “It does to me. You’re the first sign of the dragons that my ancestor transformed to humans since the time that he did it.” His voice softened a bit, “I want to know about them more, how many are still alive and if they have reverted yet.”  
Hiccup sighed and Toothless nudged him, “It’s alright Hiccup, we can just go if you want.”  
Merlin stepped forward, “Hiccup, please don’t.”  
“Toothless!”  
Toothless’ ears flattened, “Sorry, I forgot he can understand us. Never met a human before that could do that.”  
Hiccup glared at Toothless as Merlin asked, “Why so reluctant?”  
“I don’t belong on Berk anymore. Besides, just as well so hunters and the like can’t track me.”  
Merlin placed a comforting hand on Hiccup’s shoulder before Hiccup quickly shrugged it off and Merlin backed up a step, “So, how are they?”  
Hiccup scoffed, “Wouldn’t know, don’t even know where my own mother is.”  
“Hiccup, you know why she’s hiding, to protect you.” Toothless warbled softly, concerned for his brother.  
Merlin frowned, “You, don’t know where the others are?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No, I don’t…I started exploring in hopes of finding answers.”  
“Answers to what?”  
Toothless and Hiccup exchanged a look as Hiccup answered, “Just answers, who the Fyrests were before the change, where they lived…why they haven’t changed back yet. Their history. Answers that Obsidian and Blair couldn’t provide.”  
Merlin smiled, “Well Hiccup, I may not have all the answers but I can give a few.”


	18. Chapter 18

Merlin sat down and Blaze curled around him, falling asleep instantly, “So, since we both have questions, ask one each?”  
Hiccup nodded and sat, Toothless curling around him and resting his head in Hiccup’s lap, “Alright, what’s your first question.”  
“Which dragon was your mother?”  
“Sandris. My turn, what do you know about the Fyrests?”  
Merlin smiled warmly, “They were the first dragons, the one that gave birth to all dragon kind. They served humanity until Goliath and his mate Roxil decided to rebel and serve their own ways, several other dragon following them. That’s where the many of the Celtic dragon ideals came from, dragon hordes, destruction of villages and people. But they were also creatures of unexplainable—magic would be the best word for it although it’s not accurate.”  
Hiccup looked at him with fixated attention, “What do you mean?”  
Merlin gestured to Hiccup, “Take yourself for example, have you found any other signs, stories, anything at all about anything or one with dragon like properties?”  
Hiccup thought about it but couldn’t think of anything directly, “Not directly, some of the Grecian/Roman myth like the Furies, or possibly Hermes and his transformations…but no.”  
“Exactly,” Merlin nodded, “The combining of dragon and human blood shouldn’t be possible, even through the dragon’s transformation because they’re still fully dragon, yet Halflings are possible, as represented in you. There is also a dragon’s healing.”  
Toothless looked up, interested more so now, and said absentmindedly, “Night Furies are known for our healing.”  
“Yes, except a Fyrest’s healing is far greater.”  
“How’s that? Obsidian and Blair never mentioned anything like that.”  
Merlin nodded in an understanding way, “That might have been because Sandris was not a healer.”  
“Only certain dragons could heal?” Hiccup asked, shocked.  
“Yes, a rarer trait in the Fyrests but a powerful one for many reasons. First of all they could heal anyone—dragon or human—completely, and not just a more rapid recovery, their wounds would be healed without any consequence or lag—although it always did leave the healer dragon tired out, especially if it was a larger wound. But also secondly, it negated the Candlestone’s effect.”  
Hiccup blinked, “What’s the Candlestone?”  
Merlin sighed, relieved, “If you are asking that it means you have not met Devin.”  
“I’ve heard of Devin, Obsidian mentioned that he tried to kill my mother the night the Quadwing took her to the White King’s nest.”  
Merlin hummed thoughtfully, “That must be why the dragons are still human.”  
“What?” Hiccup asked.  
Merlin turned back to Hiccup, “When the Fyrests where turned human it was only to last as long as the Dragon Slayers lived. It should have worn off centuries ago with Devin’s death but if…wait, you said Devin attacked your mother?”  
Hiccup nodded slowly as Toothless answered, “Yeah, him and some other guy named Palin. Is something wrong? Besides the obvious that they were trying to kill her.”  
Merlin looked thoughtfully at the ground, “He must have learned somehow…Gartrand, he must have told them.” Merlin hissed in anger.  
Hiccup looked at him warily, “What?”  
Merlin let out a breath to calm himself, “Gartrand, he was with the other Fyrests but left right before the changed, but he saw the change…Devin must have captured him and he told them.”  
“But—wasn’t that centuries ago?”  
Merlin agreed, “It was, but dragons can live for centuries, easily, not just Fyrest either…however Fyrests are the only dragons that can share their life blood and not kill the recipient.”  
Hiccup’s brow knitted, “I—I don’t understand.”  
Toothless huffed, “That makes two of us.”  
Sighing Merlin explained, “From as long as humanity can remember enchantments and magic of one form or another has always existed. And nearly as long as that, the desire to live long longer and be youthful. Ancient sorcerers found a way to harness the Fyrest’s blood to do just that.”  
“Why a Fyrest and not any other kind of dragon?” Hiccup asked, a combination of worry and fear filling him.  
“Because at the time, Fyrests were the predominate dragon. You have to remember Hiccup, this was hundreds, if not a couple thousand years ago. Most other dragon species were not yet born. Through these, spells, they were able to use the blood of Fyrests to keep themselves young, however to do so they needed a Candlestone.”  
“What’s a Candlestone? You said that healer dragons negated its effects...what’s bad about it?”  
Merlin thought for a moment before explaining, “Different dragons live longer for different reasons, for the Fyrests, it’s because they use light energy to rejuvenate and restore themselves. The Candlestone absorbs light, thus it can suck the very life out of a Fyrest.”  
Hiccup paled and said horrified, “What?”  
Merlin continued, “When the Fyrests were turned human it changed them enough that they would no longer be affected by it as certain parts of their heritage were, turned off I suppose. They no longer required light to survive, however, I cannot say the same for you. It is obvious that once hidden facts of their dragon past are present, alive and thriving in you.”  
“So, in essence, Devin has the Candlestone, he can use the Candlestone and a Fyrest’s blood to stay young—so he’s centuries old—and this Candlestone can kill me?”  
“Basically.” Merlin nodded, “However in order for it to ‘kill you’, you would have had to have been in its presence for a very long time without light—or substantial light. My best guess is that it would affect you as it did the Fyrest Clefspeare.”  
“Who’s Clefspeare?”  
“The King off Dragons after Makaidos was killed by Devin. Merlin—the one who turned the dragons human—was the keeper of the Candlestone in his time, hiding it from the likes of the Dragon Slayers but when he went to warn Clefspeare of Devin’s attack he accidently left it in his cave where Devin apparently found it and has been using it ever since…which can only mean that he has found and killed other Fyrests since then.” Merlin looked down, ashamed.  
Hiccup hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, “There wasn’t really much you could do, you don’t even know where they were—are. So what could the Candlestone do to me?”  
“Weaken you, make you feel very sick or light headed—but severely weakening you would be the main one. And the closer you are to it the stronger it’ll get. So you really know very little about your own kind?”  
Hiccup nodded with a sigh, “Obsidian and Blaire didn’t know much and mom wasn’t around to tell me so yeah—I knew next to zilch.”  
Merlin smiled sympathetically, “On the bright side, from what you’ve said it sounds like Devin is nowhere near you.”  
Hiccup shivered, he hadn’t liked what he knew about Devin before and now he really didn’t like him, “Yeah, I guess that’s a bonus.”  
The sun began to peak out of the horizon. Toothless blinked, “It’s morning already?”  
Merlin stretched, “Must have been talking for longer than I thought, that or it was earlier than I thought.”  
“Probably the second one.” Hiccup smiled.  
Merlin turned to Hiccup, “So what are you planning to do now?”  
Hiccup looked at the horizon and answered, “I’m still going to explore, and there are still a few things I need answered that you probably won’t know.”  
Merlin looked at him curiously and Hiccup explained, “I’m just curious about an enemy I made. His name’s Viggo Grimborn, he’s a Dragon Hunter.”  
Merlin thought and shook his head, “I can say I have not heard of him, but he hunts dragons I can most certainly say that he is an enemy of mine.”  
Hiccup smiled understandingly, “I’m hoping to learn something—anything—about him, ‘cause all I know at this point is his name and that he’s the master mind behind the Hunter’s operations. Not good when you’re trying to beat someone.”  
“No it is not.” Merlin agreed. He then walked over to Hiccup and gripped his shoulder, “If you need any help, I’m more than willing.”  
“Thank you Merlin.” Hiccup stopped and turned around, “What was that thing you threw at the bounty hunters that exploded?”  
Merlin reached into a side bag and withdrew a sack about the size of Hiccup’s palm. “It’s an explosive powered made by the Orient.”  
Hiccup took it and looked at it, “Incredible, so you just throw it and it explodes?”  
Merlin laughed, “No, it requires a spark to ignite it.”  
Hiccup nodded, thoughtfully, as he handed the bag back to Merlin, “Thank you again, we should probably be going…still got a lot to see.”  
Merlin nodded, “Agreed, until I see you again.”  
Hiccup and Toothless took off into the dawn and Merlin left with Blaze to the west. They flew for hours, changing their direction north a bit. That night both were cautious, Hiccup jumping at almost every sound.  
Toothless nudged him with a comforting coo, “Its ok, Hiccup, it was just a bird.”  
Hiccup hung his head with a sigh, “Yeah, sorry bud. I guess I’m just on edge.”  
Toothless laughed as his ear plates twitched at other noises, “I am too, but we’re far away from them now.”  
“I know.” Hiccup pressed closer to Toothless as he wrapped him up in his wings.

They flew two more days east, stopping at a village for information. Hiccup bought a new map of the region and wandered around the square a bit, stopping at a weapons stall. The vender smiled and greeted him, “Looking for anything in particular?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “No,” he stopped, holding an object like a Discus, “What is this?”  
The man grinned and took it, “It is a Chakram. A weapon from my native land of India and a choice distance weapon.”  
Hiccup inspected it more, finding the edges to be extremely sharp and the metal fairly thin. “This, is a weapon?”  
The man smiled and took the circled blade, “When used properly it can deal a lot of damage.” He began spinning it on one figure before releasing it and it sank into a wooden plank.  
Hiccup stared at it blankly, quickly walking over to it and inspecting the damage done, “That is impressive.”  
“You can also throw it in a different fashion.” He removed the Chakram and threw it Frisbee style.  
Hiccup took it again and inspected every inch before returning it, “Thank you.”  
Having bought his map, he left the village and found Toothless. They continued to fly east for several more days, nothing of interest appearing. They had just made camp and Hiccup sighed, leaning back onto Toothless, the sky almost black and only the moon and brightest stars shining. “The main reason I started this trip was to find out something, anything, on this Viggo Grimborn.”  
“Guy sure isn’t well known.”  
“What I’m afraid of is that he might have changed his name, that or he actually hasn’t been that far away from the far north…but his brother just doesn’t look like he’s from around that area. You know what I mean Toothless? It just—doesn’t add up.”  
Toothless nudged him, “There’s still a lot of ground to be covered Hiccup, I’m sure we’ll find something.”  
“Yeah, I hope so bud.”  
Toothless’ head suddenly shot up and he growled, fear gripped Hiccup’s stomach. “Show yourself.”  
There was a slight rustle of the bushes but they saw nothing. Hiccup turned to Toothless, “Are you sure it’s not a…rabbit or something.”  
Like a curtain being pulled of a dragon appeared in front of them and Toothless retorted, “Defiantly not a rabbit.”  
The dragon bowed its head, “I am sorry to have started you Shadow Fighter and Halfling, I thought you were someone else at first.”  
Hiccup blinked at the formality and Toothless stopped growling but was still wary, “Who are you?”  
“I am Reflector, a Scale-Blender.”  
“A Stealth Dragon?” Hiccup asked Toothless.  
“I think that’s what Vikings called them, although I won’t swear to it.” He turned to the dragon and asked, “What is your purpose here?”  
“I live in these mountains, but recently a witch found me and has been hunting me ever since.”  
“How can she see you? I mean, Toothless couldn’t even actually see you.”  
Reflector shook his head in aggravation, “She is a witch, and she doesn’t need her eyes to see me.”  
“Why does she want you?” Hiccup asked and Toothless began to worry.  
“I am not entirely sure, maybe it is some misguided attempt to a longer life. But she out of anyone should know that my blood would be useless to her. Either way unless you have business you must attend to in these mountains I’d suggest leaving and taking the detour.” He ruffled his wings.  
Toothless nodded, “Thank you, how far back did you last see the witch?”  
“About four miles northeast. But I will warn you, she is faster than a snake and as cunning as the serpent.”  
Hiccup looked at Toothless, concern blatant on his features, “Let’s go Hiccup.”  
Reflector left and disappeared, Toothless and Hiccup leaving moments later, “Just can’t buy a break.”  
Toothless’ ear plates twitched, “Let’s move to darker covering.”  
They adjusted course for the darker clouds. Water hit Hiccup’s face and he blinked—not having his mask on—holding up his heads to shield his eyes. Within seconds the drops became a torrent, “Toothless?!”  
Hiccup’s eyes became dragonic as he looked for his brother before something bumped his side, “I’m right here Hiccup, the storm’s going to get worse.”  
Hiccup squinted and yelped as a flash light up the clouds, “I should latch on so we can fly faster and get out of here sooner.”  
Toothless flew beneath Hiccup and Hiccup folded his wings—only for a strong gust of wind to knock him away from Toothless. “Hiccup?!”  
“I’m ok!” He shouted in the darkness as he righted himself then hissed in pain, some of the stitches on his arm pulling out and the water stinging the flesh underneath. The wind rushed by him, deafening him, “Toothless?”  
No reply.  
Panicking slightly, Hiccup released a roar—calling Toothless.  
Toothless heard the roar and responded, “I’m coming!”  
He opened his maw and ripples of purple rings shot into the air, he found Hiccup fighting the wind to try and stay in place. Relief flooded him until his echolocation caught sight of something long and narrow.  
Hiccup heard Toothless faint response and sighed—relieved. He squinted again and fought more to stay in place when something sharp hit his wing and then proceed to wrap around his wings and left arm. He fell instantly.  
Toothless continued to echolocate Hiccup, seeing him get hit with something like a bola and fall. He prayed that Hiccup would have enough height that he could catch him in time.  
Hiccup felt the wind rush past, in a different way, as he struggled in the ropes, “TOOTHLESS!”  
The blacker mass of the ground was fast approaching and Hiccup clenched his eyed shut when a warm but wet body wrapped around him. Toothless spread his wings for long enough to slow them greatly before he wrapped them around himself and Hiccup as they crashed.  
Both boys laid still for a moment, seeing if the other was alive. Toothless unwrapped himself from around Hiccup and nuzzled his face, “Hiccup?”  
He smiled even though Toothless couldn’t see it and croaked, “I’m, ok. I think.”  
Another flash light up the sky and Toothless clearly saw the ropes and bit them off, Hiccup stood with a grunt of pain. The wind whipped passed and Hiccup yelped, his left wing folding close with a twitch while the other remained limp.  
Toothless raised his own wing to block the wind and warbled, “Hiccup, turn around.”  
Hiccup complied without argument as the pain in his wing was growing rapidly. “It isn’t broken, is it?”  
Toothless surveyed the damage, where the bola had hit had apparently been sharpened somewhat as part of the membrane of Hiccup’s left wing was cleanly torn—and while small it still rendered the wing flightless if he wanted to fly in years to come—and his right wing hung at an awkward angle. Toothless hissed in sympathetic pain, “You have a tear in your left wing and your right wing is dislocated.”  
Hiccup frowned in pain, “So, I can’t fly. And whoever shot me down probably isn’t far from here…”  
Toothless grabbed ahold of Hiccup’s wing in his gummy mouth while he was talking and placed a paw on his back before pulling it out and back into place.  
Hiccup’s eyes widened as Toothless suddenly relocated the wing, mouth agape for a moment in silent pain, too physically shocked to do anything, before Toothless released the wing and Hiccup crumpled to the ground with a cry. Toothless wined and curled around Hiccup, carefully licking both of Hiccup’s wings. Hiccup gripped Toothless’ side as he cried for a minute.  
Once the pain subsided enough for Hiccup to stand without extreme pain Toothless asked, “Can you ride on my back?”  
Hiccup nodded, “I think so.”  
Carefully Hiccup maneuvered onto Toothless’ back and clipped on. He leaped into the air but flew very low, just above the trees. Hiccup hung on and buried his head just below Toothless’ and folded his wings closely. Toothless landed a few minutes later, just in front of a cave and he quickly padded inside.  
Hiccup breathed in relief inside the cave, grateful to be out of the wind and have the strain off his wings. Toothless walked into the cave more until the entrance was completely out of sight before carefully curling around Hiccup and falling asleep.

Hiccup woke up the next morning with one wing dully throbbing and the other just plain aching. Toothless nudged his head slight with his tongue. Hiccup placed a hand on his snout and smiled weakly in the darkness. “Where are we bud?”  
Toothless continued to licked Hiccup’s wings, “Still in the mountains, we need to leave and get your wing healed.”  
Hiccup nodded and climbed onto Toothless back, “Ok Toothless, I’m ready.”  
He walked out and observed their surroundings closely. After determining it was safe, Toothless took to the air and flew south. He had to keep his speed down to keep tension off of Hiccup’s wings. They landed about twenty minutes later when Hiccup couldn’t stand flying anymore.  
“I’m sorry Toothless, it just really hurts, especially the tear.”  
Toothless warbled, “There’s no reason to apologize, it just needs to heal first.” He inspected the tear, the flight not having helped it. “I’m going to go see if there are any herbs nearby, will you be alright?”  
“I’ll be fine Toothless.” Hiccup said with a forced smiled. He patted Endeavor and his shield which he had taken off his leg for the moment, “If anything happens I’ll call for you.”  
“Be sure that you do.” With that Toothless left, somewhat hesitantly.  
He flew off a small distance to a grove in search of some herbs to help Hiccup and keep the tear closed. He found a few and stuck them in the saddlebag Hiccup had unlatched for him and wandered through the forest more. Presently the thick trees gave way to a large clearing where a small house stood. Toothless froze and growled slightly before quietly turning back and hurriedly making his way to Hiccup.  
Hiccup sat on the small bolder with his knees drawn up and his head resting on them, waiting for Toothless was absolutely—boring. “Thor what did I do to deserve this? Can’t I have a break or at least learn what I came down here for?!”  
He frowned when no answer came, not that he was expecting any. The minutes seemed to be hours and Hiccup groaned when a branch cracked behind him. “Toothless?”  
From the tree line came an older man with several greying hairs. Surprised, Hiccup leapt up and fell off the bolder with a yelp. “Hold young Dragon Child, I mean you no harm.”  
Hiccup looked at him with extreme wariness and caution, “What do you want?”  
The man backed up a few steps with hands open in a sign of surrender, “I saw a strange shape land on my lands and I came to investigate. I mean you no harm.”  
Hiccup scoffed slightly.  
“I understand your hesitancy Dragon Child.”  
“Stop calling me that, my name’s Night Rider.”  
“But it is only respectful to call you Dragon Child, that is what you are.”  
Hiccup groaned, “Look, I’m sorry w—I intruded, I’ll leave shortly.”  
The man looked pained, “But you are hurt, I saw your dragon Protector caring for your wing.”  
Hiccup frowned deeply, “Who are you?”  
“I am Ling, from the country of China. Though you are not from there, are you?”  
“What gives you that idea?”  
“One, you look nothing like my people. And two, you obviously hold no regard for the title of Dragon Child—if you were from my land you hold it as the greatest honor.”  
“Uh…sorry?” Hiccup asked carefully.  
It was at that moment a furious black shape leaped out in front of Hiccup. Ling back up a step, “Oh my.”  
“Toothless wait! He hasn’t done anything!”  
“But he was most likely the one who hurt you!” Toothless snarled, never taking his eyes off of the man.  
“I’m not sure about that.” Hiccup retorted, having felt his feelings thoroughly and felt nothing negative except slight fear. “His feeling don’t feel like one that would have wounded me.”  
Ling cleared his throat quietly and gestured to Hiccup, “Would you mind if I looked at your wing, I might be able to help.”  
Toothless growled at him, “If he make one wrong move I’ll blast him to ashes.”  
Hiccup nodded slowly and he inspected the tear, “I have some bandages that should hold this together, if you would follow me.”  
Hiccup climbed back on Toothless and they followed him, “Are you ok bud?”  
“I don’t trust him.”  
“Is it him or just the fact that I’m hurt?” Toothless said nothing and Hiccup leaned down and gave his brother a hug around the neck, “You’re right here with me, nothing’s going to happen to me.”  
Toothless sighed as they saw the hut, the same one he had seen earlier. Ling turned, “I’m afraid my home may be too small to house your protector, Dragon Child; I shall bring out the supplies.”  
They watched him disappear into the hut and they waited a minute until Hiccup shivered, “Hiccup? Are you cold?”  
He shook his head, “Not really…I just got a strong feel of, greed and cruel joy.”  
Toothless growled at the hut, “We’re leaving, I knew this was a bad idea-”  
“I wasn’t from him, it was from somewhere behind us.” Hiccup replied looking behind him.  
Instantly Toothless turned and glared into the woods. Seeing nothing. Hiccup suddenly yelled as fell off of Toothless, breathing heavily, “Toothless look out!”  
He stepped over Hiccup protectively and swung his head to the side and saw a woman, old and haggard, one hand empty—Toothless risked a side glance and saw a bola stuck in the side of the house—and the other hold another. Angered to the point he was almost seeing red, he shot at her. Faster than humanly possible she dodged the shot and grinned, “Well look what I’ve found.”  
The door to the hut slammed open as Ling ran out and growled, “Excellinor.”  
“Hello Ling.” She said, her voice sounding disgusted, “You made their capture easier.”  
Ling balled his fist and shouted, “Get off my land you witch! You’re not welcome here and you will not harm the Dragon Child on my lands.”  
She scowled, “Very well.” Looking at Hiccup who was still underneath Toothless, “We will met again—Halfling.”  
Hiccup’s heart rose to his mouth and fear made his breaths quicken. Once she was out of sight Ling turned to them before looking at his house, “Good for nothing witch. The day she came here in her ridiculous hunt for a dragon was the day peace ended.” He grabbed the bola and tugged, removing it from the wall before discarding it with disgust.  
“That was the witch?”  
Toothless growled venomously, “The sooner we away from these accursed mountains the better.”  
Ling unwrapped the bandages and looked at Hiccup’s saddle bag which Toothless had put the herbs in, “Excellinor, yes. May I?”  
Hiccup nodded. He rummaged through the herbs and ground several to make a paste. Toothless licked the bandages before Ling put them over the tear. Toothless inspected it before nodding, “It should hold the membrane in place so it can heal.”  
Ling put away the supplies, “You should be leaving, Excellinor will no doubt return to find you. Safe travels Dragon Child.”  
Hiccup nodded and Toothless leapt into the air without a word, “Eager to go bud?”  
“Yes.”  
Hiccup hugged him again, “Sorry, let’s head south a bit, ok?”  
“Good with me, anywhere but those mountains.”  
Hiccup laughed slightly.

They flew for a day and a half a found a fair sized town. Hiccup got off of Toothless and carefully folded his wings into the vest, making sure to be gentle with the tear—even though it was doing a bit better. Hiccup walked into the town, it sat at the edge of a large river and was abundant with life. He walked for a while before finding a merchant selling various ware. Hiccup noted that these people held Ryker’s general looks. Hiccup nearly jumped for joy, he was getting closer, he could feel it.  
He walked to a vender and asked, “Do you know of someone named Viggo Grimborn?”  
The vender shook his head and he asked a few more, receiving the same answer from them all. He was about to give up when a hand landed on his shoulder, “Yes?” Hiccup asked.  
He looked at the man the hand belonged to, he looked like many of the other venders, if not a bit more worn. “You are searching for information on Viggo Grimborn?”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yes.”  
“For what purpose?”  
Hiccup looked down, “He’s threatening several of my friends, and I don’t know who the heck he is.”  
The man nodded, “I can tell you what I know.”

Stoic walked through the village, he rubbed his temple, the last fight he just broke up was a particularly nasty one.  
Several Viking ran past him before one yelled, “Trader Johan!”  
Stoic straightened a bit and walked down to the docks, “Ah Berk! My most favorite stop in the Archipelago!”  
Stoic greeted Johan, “Hello Johan, what news do you bring?”  
“Nothing of major interest, the usual tribal wars and news of Night Rider.”  
Stoic looked surprised, “What news?”  
Johan grinned, “I heard this from a Roman Guard himself.”  
“So, he’s aligned with the Romans.” Stoic scoffed.  
Johan shook his head, “No, no. You have it all wrong. Night Rider was their prisoner for one thing or another, but when the sun went down on their trip to Rome a dragon attacked.”  
“A Night Fury. Yes, I know the rumors.”  
“But have you heard this? The Night Fury did attack, but that is not what is shocking…the guards say they saw him grow wings, large black wings mimicking that of the Night Fury.”  
Stoic blinked, “I think they were on the mead too much.”  
“I am only reporting what I heard, Master Stoic.”  
“Thank you Johan.” He placed a hand on his shoulder and left, mind heavy. A man with wings—ridiculous. But it still left him with the thought of, if he does have wings and a Night Fury, what harm could he do to the Archipelago? What is this menace?

A heavy fist collided with the wooden table accompanied with a growl, “Where is he?!”  
Ryker entered the tent and Viggo looked at him questioningly, “No news of Night Rider. He just seems to have appeared out of nowhere.”  
“Not nowhere brother. He has obviously changed his name so that he can’t be tracked.” Viggo replied, “How is the trade going?”  
Ryker nodded, “Well, no sightings of Night Rider have been reported for the past couple of months. Is it possible that he ran off?”  
“Possible? Yes. Likely, no.” Viggo looked the map and frowned, “It would not surprise me if he is doing the same thing we are, looking for our past and any information he can to bring us down.”  
“What do we do?”  
Viggo said nothing for a minute, “We continue on with trade and strengthen or bases and ships. Do you have the metal ready yet?”  
“Almost, the men are finishing perfecting it, now that we know it needs to hold up to a Night Fury.”  
Viggo grinned, “Good.”


	19. Chapter 19

“You know Viggo Grimborn?” Hiccup asked.  
The man laughed, “Know him? No. But this village knows of the Grimborns. They and their ‘Dragon Hunters’ came through several years ago. They are from this general area. Several years ago they hunted the dragons in this area for trade, made quite a profit too.”  
Hiccup growled quietly but the man didn’t hear and continued on, “However in this area dragons are sacred, so they moved on…however not before they trapped the few dragons that lived in the mountains near here.”  
Hiccup nodded, he was glad to learn something, but this wasn’t exactly anything he could really use. “Is there, anything else?”  
The man nodded, “Indeed. About a decade ago they came back to this area. I can only assume they had hoped to find dragons again. Viggo’s brother, Ryker, was quite upset when we met them. Their father, and the previous leader of the Dragon Hunters had recently died. As thus, Ryker inherited the business and tribe, being the older brother. However, Viggo thought he was more qualified and challenged him to a game of Maces and Talons, the winner taking the tribe. Viggo won. Ryker, although humiliated and rather upset dedicated himself to being his brother’s second in command.”  
Hiccup nodded thoughtfully, now they were getting somewhere.  
“You are interested in dragons, are you not?”  
Hiccup nodded, “They’ve always fascinated me.”  
He nodded, “The Dragon Hunters have great knowledge of almost every dragon. Much of it has been gathered over the generations, however, there is an artifact they lost due to a deserter in their tribe—they much of their knowledge due to it. They had come a few generation back, asking around here about a strange man but we had seen none.”  
“Do you know his name?” Hiccup asked, very curious.  
“I believe his name was Bark the Bald, or something weird like that.”  
Hiccup’s brow crossed, confused and worried, “Bork? Bork the Bold possibly?”  
“That sounds right! Weird name, and from the description the Hunters were giving he was from far away from here. At least, that’s what my great grandfather said. I’m afraid that’s all I know.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Thank you, this helps a lot.”  
The man smiled, “Anything to spite them and help the dragons. We have not forgiven them for what they did to them.”  
Hiccup left and found Toothless quickly, “Find anything?”  
By his tone he obviously wasn’t expecting anything, “As a matter of fact, I did.”  
Hiccup unfolded his wings and hopped onto Toothless’ back, “I’ll tell you about it while we fly.”

Hiccup looked out, eyes wide, before they began to drop close again and his head nodded before bobbing back up. This process repeating several times before Toothless finally looked back, “We need to land before you fall off the saddle…again.”  
Hiccup glared, “That was, was years ago…” His head nodded again and Toothless huffed.  
“Doesn’t matter, history’s about to repeat itself if we don’t land.”  
Hiccup slid off of Toothless once they landed in a glen and instantly fall asleep beside him.  
The next day they awoke and Toothless lazily stretched and yawned like a cat would. Hiccup giggled at the sight but quickly turned his head when Toothless shot him a curious glance. He walked over to the stream and splashed some water on his face before bringing his wing over and inspecting the tear. It was healing well and rapidly, thanks to Toothless and his Night Fury saliva—although he would rarely admit it because the smell was almost worse than the injury.  
Toothless watched his brother clean and care for himself out of the corner of his eye, while also cleaning himself. He finished rubbing a wet paw on his head and turned back to Hiccup, who still had his back to him and faced the stream. A mischievous grin played at his features. Quietly, he padded over to Hiccup before shoving him in the back with his head.  
Hiccup let out an unceremonious yelp before he fell face first into the water. Resurfacing, he glared at Toothless.  
Deep dragonic laughter filled the glen. Hiccup looked around before standing in the knee deep water and flapped his wings, sending water cascading over Toothless.  
The laughter stopped instantly, replaced with a look of death. Hiccup smirked, wings twitched—however—in slight fear.  
Toothless then sprang forward and pounced in the water only a foot away from Hiccup, effectively soaking him…as if he hadn’t been completely drenched before.  
Hiccup grinned, “It’s on.”  
He unclipped his shield from his thigh and beat his wings, sending more water cascading towards Toothless. Toothless simply lifted a wing and effectively blocking it before swiping his tail out and sending a stream towards Hiccup, who raised his shield and block it—most of it.  
The water fight continued for another hour between the two, until they were soaked to the bone, then some. Hiccup laughed as he drug himself out of the stream and plopped down on the grass, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. If only life could be this peaceful…he lazily half-opened one eye when a warm, wet mass landed on his lap. Toothless laid his head there, body curled around Hiccup, with the same look of pure pleasure.  
Hiccup removed one hand from behind his head, only for Toothless to replace its spot with his tail, and scratched him around the ears—though careful to avoid the sweet spot, didn’t need a knocked out Night Fury for the next six hours. Toothless purred and leaned into the hand—both boys falling asleep within minutes.

When Hiccup awoke the sun was high, a little past noon, and Toothless stood at the stream’s edge. A small pile of fish laid beside him. He turned and gummily smiled at Hiccup before whipping his head back and catching another fish. He gave this fish to Hiccup who grinned and took it before starting a small fire to cook it—didn’t matter if he was half dragon, raw fish tasted horrible—and started eating.  
They left shortly after, Hiccup getting back his wings in short bursts—Toothless not wanting him to overdo it and reopen the wound. Thor knows he’s already done that with the arrow wound which was now just about healed and Toothless did not want a repeat of that experience.  
They flew into very warm—as it was early summer—and damp territory with small mountains and many hills. Not damp like Berk but a good damp, just enough to keep your skin from drying out all the time like Hiccup had found several other parts of the world did. And he welcomed this fully. He grew up on an island surrounded by the salt water of the ocean. Dry was something he wasn’t used to nor entirely liked.  
He leaned back and laid on Toothless back, enjoying the ride when Toothless growled. Hiccup was upright in an instant. “What is it bud?”  
Toothless nodded his head in the direction of a hill, one of the larger ones, just shy of being a small mountain. Hiccup’s eyes turned dragonic and he saw a, man standing there, waving at them? He was waving at them, right? And it wasn’t just a friendly ‘hello!’ wave but a signaling one.  
Hiccup leaned closer to Toothless, “What should we do Toothless?”  
Toothless inspected the man for a moment before answering, “He doesn’t look threatening, I say we land and see what he wants, I can easily outfly him if anything happens.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Alright, I’m going to fold up my wings, he couldn’t have seen them yet.”  
Toothless rumbled his agreement as he adjusted course and flew towards the man on the hill. They arrived there in a couple minutes, Toothless deciding to give Hiccup more time and just glided there on a nice wind.  
Once he landed, several yards away from the man, he held his head up and snarled warningly. In general, his looked like a perturbed, black stallion. Hiccup slid off of his overdramatic brother and nodded at the man.  
The man nodded back and spoke in very good Latin. “You are the Dragon Child?”  
That caught Hiccup by surprise for a moment before nodding, “That’s what the man kept calling me.”  
He smiled, “My grandfather, yes. He sent a message to my father, and he sent me here in hopes of catching you as you passed.”  
“Oh?” Hiccup asked, guard still up.  
“Yes. My grandfather mentioned that you were hurt by a witch. My mother was a well-known healer before we moved to these mountains.” His tone changed from friendly to formal, “My father has requested that he see you and you spend the night. The presence of the Dragon Child and his Protector would be the greatest honor.”  
Hiccup swallowed thickly and looked at Toothless, questioningly. Toothless observed the man and everything he physically could about him. His smell and attitude, watching for even the slightest signs of aggression, hostility, or well hidden lies. But could sense none. By the look in Hiccup’s face he could tell he was searching the man’s most hidden feelings, things someone could hide easily from others or even themselves if they so desired but they were always there. After a moment Hiccup ever-so-slightly shook his head, signaling he also couldn’t anything against them.  
“We’d be honored to stay the night.” Hiccup finally called.  
The man smiled and breathed again. “Thank you Dragon Child. I will lead you back to my father’s house.”  
Toothless lifted Hiccup up, by placing his head between his legs and lifting up, Hiccup sliding down to the base of his neck and back where the saddle sat, before following the man. The walk was pretty quiet. The man, their guide who riding a horse, would mention something here or there but other than that it was just the sounds of the wind through the trees and grass.  
After a three hour walk they came to a vast farmland. At the far end, butting up against a grove of trees, was a large house. House isn’t what Hiccup would have called it though, it looked more like a palace to him. They travel quickly on the path between fields and made it to the house an hour before sundown.  
An older man stood in front of the hose entrance, an air off high dignity surrounding him. The man guiding Hiccup and Toothless bowed, “Father, I have found the Dragon Child.”  
The older man smiled, “It is a great honor to meet with you Dragon Child.”  
Hiccup smiled tensely, he just about asked them to stop calling him ‘Dragon Child’ but remembered Ling and how he had taken that…so decided to drop it and suffer with weird name. He nodded politely.  
The older man turned and waved for them to follow, “Come, you must be hungry.”  
Hiccup nodded, “I could eat.”  
This made both men smile. They found themselves in a dining hall of sorts, it being very different than what Hiccup was used to on Berk. Once their food had been served the older man spoke. “My name is Wang Hai. My son is Wang Delun. My father met you in the Mongol Mountains.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah, helped get my—helped heal me.”  
Hai smiled, “We know Dragon Child, you need not hide your wings here.”  
Hiccup paled momentarily before shaking his head, “Sorry, habit.”  
“A necessary one for survival unfortunately.” Hai said sadly.  
“Hm…”  
The conversation was idle for the next several minutes, nothing of importance or interest cropping up. Hai suddenly said something so casually Hiccup almost missed it. “Before I grew too old I was a blacksmith for the Emperor himself.”  
Hiccup stopped, “What?”  
Hai nodded to Hiccup’s sword and folded up shield. “My father mentioned your shield, neither he nor I have ever seen anything like it. Only a talented blacksmith could create such a devise.”  
Hiccup reddened slightly, not used to having his work complimented by humans—other than Gobber who had always been interested in Hiccup’s, unique weapons from around the world. “Uh, thanks. Has a few glitches here and there but it’s the best thing for defense while I’m flying.”  
Hai looked curious, “May I?”  
Hiccup shrugged and handed him the shield. “Impressive.” He said nothing for a minute before speaking again. “If you do not mind, would you stay a few more days? I can teach you what I know of the art.”  
Hiccup thought about it for a moment and reattached the shield before nodding, “It would be a pleasure.”  
Hai smiled, “Excellent! It is getting late, I will see you tomorrow.”  
He stood and left. Delun gestured to several waiting woman, “They will show you to your room. Good night, Dragon Child.”  
Hiccup bade him good night before following them to a large room. They left and Hiccup sighed. Toothless nudged him, “Are you alright Hiccup?”  
He sighed, “Just a lot to take in I guess, wasn’t expecting anything like this.”  
Toothless purred in Hiccup’s arms, “Just get some rest, Dragon Child.”  
“Really bud?” Hiccup frowned and Toothless laughed.

When Hiccup woke up the next morning, several woman were standing around Toothless with various parts of Hiccup’s armor which he had taken off to sleep. “Ahh!” Startled, he jumped and fell over Toothless—landing on the upper portion of his back so his head was cocked upwards and wings splayed.   
He stayed like that for a moment, Toothless shaking his head at Hiccup’s clumsiness, when one of the woman smiled and laughed quietly. “Our apologies, Dragon Child, we were told to assist you in dressing then bring you out to eat.”  
Hiccup smiled, a bit forcefully, “I-uh-can dress myself, thanks.”  
They nodded and set down the pieces and left. Once they were out of the room Hiccup exhaled and Toothless laughed quietly. “Oh hush you.”  
He met them outside and they lead him back to the dining hall. He ate a quick breakfast before following Hai outside. “While I no longer forge for the Emperor, I still practice and teach my son…though he is only home for a little while, he will be leaving soon again to serve in the Emperor’s army.”  
Hiccup nodded, saying nothing. They entered the forge and Hiccup couldn’t help the gasp that escaped him. The forge was huge, probably about three times the size of Gobber’s forge. There were various workstation with tools that were grouped together for certain jobs. Such as the shaping tools hung in one station. The hammering tools for the initial flattening of metal hung at another station with a thick slab of metal to pound it on. And leather working tools at another. There were several others but Hai moved to the already lighted and heated furnace.  
“My forge.”  
Hiccup nodded, eyes bright in wonder, “We only had a forge under half this size where I’m from.”  
Hai nodded, “Having been the Emperor’s best blacksmith has its perks. Now, tell me about some of the things you have forged.”  
The remainder of the day was spent there. Hai and Hiccup discussing different weapons and forging techniques. They had even forged a dagger together, it looking like a true Chinese dagger.  
A million thoughts swirled around in Hiccup’s mind that night, too excited to sleep. Toothless eventually huffed and grabbed Hiccup by his collar. “AH! Toothless, what you doing?”  
His answered was muffled due to the fact that he still held Hiccup’s collar in his mouth, “We are going on a flight so you can calm down. This is ridiculous, I’m never going to get any sleep at this rate.”  
Hiccup wanted to playfully pout but the thought of flying was to great…and they were already out the window. They soared high, breaking the high winds and gliding for several minutes. Hiccup opened his wings and let the wind pick him up off the saddle. He beamed.  
It was one thing to expose his wings and live alone with Toothless, or other dragons, but it was another to openly show his wings around humans. It was still strange to Hiccup, like a foreign dream he never could have thought of. It was wonderful. They never said anything against them and were friendly around him…Something I never would have gotten on Berk.

Hai looked out of his window, seeing two shapes against the large moon. Smiling he recognized them as Night Rider and Toothless. They weren’t going anywhere, he could tell by their pattern of flight that they were simply stretching their wings before settling for the night. He watched them until they came back in, this Dragon Child was a gift to the world—although he could tell that he did not belong here. His home beckoned, though he knew it not. Hai smiled, he would return home soon, but he would always have friends and allies in the Wang’s.

The next day passed in a similar fashion as the first but as evening rolled around Delun pulled Hiccup away with his father’s permission. He handed Hiccup a horse’s reign. Hiccup stared at it blankly, “I have Toothless you know.”  
Delun nodded, “Yes, but there may come a day when your Protector is not there and you will need another way to ride. Come, I will teach you.”  
Delun mounded up and gestured for Hiccup to do so also. After taking a breath, Hiccup put a foot in the stirrup and gripped the upper part of the saddle—it almost being out of his reach. He tried to pull himself up, trying to remember how he had gotten on the horse with Tedmund, but failed. He growled and tried to jump a bit, he managed to pull himself up more but ultimately failed. Frustrated now Hiccup gave a powerful beat of his wings and landed nicely in the saddle.  
Delun frowned and shook his head. Hiccup groaned, tired of the stupid saddle, “Really?”  
He nodded, “You must learn how without your wings.”  
Toothless chuckled and Hiccup glared, “Oh hush.”  
Hiccup got down, much easier than he had getting up, and tried again. And again failed. Delun dismounted and came over to Hiccup, “Hold the reigns in your far hand and with that foot, hook it in the stirrup. You can grab the bridal if you want with your other hand. Now instead of trying to lift yourself straight up, lean over with the curve of the saddle.”  
Hiccup mumbled under his breath, “Easy for you to say when the horse isn’t twice your size.”  
Delun frowned, disapprovingly, but said nothing as Hiccup tried again. After a little struggling he finally managed to get on the saddle.  
Smiling, Delun easily mounted his own stead and began explaining. “The reigns will help you guide him, a gentle pull in one direction or the other will steer him, pull backwards to slow or halt him. Just give him a nudge with your foot will get him going.”  
Hiccup nodded, taking in the information. Delun prodded his horse and they began to ride out to the fields. Hiccup frowned, “Ok, ok, work with me here.” He gently nudged his horse and to his relief he began moving, not fast—just a nice walk—which suited Hiccup just fine for the moment.  
Toothless walked beside him and scowled. “Oh come on Hiccup, a Tinywing can walk faster than that.”  
Delun swung back around to meet up with Hiccup, smiling good naturedly. “How is it that you ride the most majestic of beasts, a dragon, and yet you cannot mount or ride a simple horse?”  
Hiccup’s glare was flat, “If you haven’t noticed, Toothless’ mounting style is drastically different from a horse…not to mention he doesn’t have stirrups and reigns to worry about.”  
Toothless gave a snort that sounded like a scoff. “Reigning a dragon. That’s more absurd than putting a saddle on one. The nerve!”  
Hiccup turned back to Delun, “As I said, and Toothless doesn’t—buck like this.”  
While the movement on the horse wasn’t terrible, it was incredibly strange, the up and down and slight sway to the sides as they walked was most un-dragon like.  
Delun shook his head, “That is why I am teaching you. Come.”  
With that he took off into a canter. Hiccup prodded his own steed and caught up with Delun, “Where are we going?” He asked in a slightly raised voice because of the slight wind.  
He gestured west. “There is a clearing due west. When the trail splits ahead we will take the right path.”  
Hiccup nodded and Toothless got a glint in his eyes, “Race you there Hiccup!”  
“Ok, but you have to stay on the ground!” Hiccup called back.  
Toothless let out a happy shriek and took off running, Hiccup prodding the horse again and took off into a hard run.  
Delun saw the Dragon Child run off and his Protector running. He could easily tell that they were engaged in a friendly race. Leaning forward on his horse he gave him a small, sharp kick and took off also.  
Toothless ended up betting them to the clearing and it being a tie between Hiccup and Delun. Hiccup having half flown, half ridden there—thus greatly reducing the amount of weight the horse was carrying, not like he had much before though. Delun frowned at Hiccup. “I said no using your wings.”  
Hiccup held a straight face. “You said no using them to mount up. You didn’t say anything about afterwards.”  
Delun shook his head but said nothing. “Draw your sword Dragon Child.”  
Hiccup did so with a feeling of where this was headed, “We’re going to practice on the horses, aren’t we?”  
“Indeed. An invaluable skill to learn and know for a warrior.”  
“Me, a warrior?” Hiccup asked then scoffed, “When Ragnarok comes.”  
Delun glared and said firmly, leaving no room for argument, “Do not doubt yourself Dragon Child. You are a warrior and can become a great one, but you must not doubt yourself—for there will lie your downfall.”  
Hiccup blinked and looked down, he had never heard anyone say anything like that to him. Even Obsidian had never said anything like that to him. Delun spoke up again, “Raise your sword Dragon Child. Once you master this on the horse you can take it on your Protector.”  
Hiccup gripped the reigns in right hand and held Endeavor in his left. Delun charged at Hiccup and his mind raced for what to do. Instinctively he pulled the horse aside and released the reigns and drew his shield. Delun’s sword hit the shield with a resounding ‘clang!’ throughout the clearing. He turned his horse back around. “You hesitated Dragon Child.”  
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing!” Hiccup defended, watching Delun in case he tried to attack while he was distracted.  
“You are learning to fight while mounted.” He said flatly then sighed, “I suppose you can start by copying me.”

When Hiccup curled into Toothless that night he was sore. “Ow.” He whispered.  
Toothless lovingly stuck his nose in Hiccup’s hair and breathed, letting his heavy breaths wash over Hiccup until he fell asleep.  
By the afternoon, two days later, Hiccup was fairly proficient at mounted combat, once having gotten the general concept he had grasped it quickly. He and Delun spared until Hiccup managed to dismount him, then the spar continued with Delun on the ground and Hiccup mounted. After another several, intense, minutes Hiccup won.  
Delun smiled, “Now do so on the dragon.”

That night at dinner Hiccup frowned, Toothless noticed it. “What’s wrong Hiccup?”  
Hiccup shook his head and turned to Hai. “Hai, I think it’s time Toothless and I left. There’s still a lot of ground for us to cover and for us to learn. And I need to get back to my pack eventually.”  
Hai nodded sadly, “I know. It has been the greatest honor to have you in my house and to teach you Dragon Child. If you are ever in need of allies in your war, it would be our honor to assist you.”  
Hiccup nodded slightly and looked at Delun and smiled, “Thank, for everything.”

Hiccup and Toothless left the next morning. They flew north east and had two days of smooth flying, it was on the third day—more precisely the third night—that something happened.  
Toothless jumped, fully alert, as a loud explosion rocked the air. Hiccup stood next to him, equally alert, Endeavor drawn. There were several minutes of quietness before another explosion rippled through the air. Hiccup leapt onto Toothless and they shot into the night sky. They watched the sky, searching for the dragon, when a bright blast from below caught their attention and the resounding ‘bang!’ Flying lower to the ground Hiccup saw what looked to be a military operation.  
“We should probably get out of here Hiccup.” Toothless rumbled.  
Hiccup leaned over but hung on, trying to get a better view, “Hang on Toothless, I think that’s the explosive powder Merlin was talking about.”  
Toothless rolled his eyes, “Great. Look, I really don’t think-”  
An explosion went off not far in front of them and Toothless screeched in fright and pain. Hiccup was thrown from Toothless but righted himself, “Toothless?!”  
Said black dragon shot past Hiccup and grabbed him in his paws as he speedily left. Once they were high and far enough away, Toothless relaxed. Hiccup panicked, “Toothless! Are you ok? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—I’m sorry!”  
Toothless shook his head, “I’m fine Hiccup, it just stung me a bit. I’ll live.”  
Hiccup nodded, though still didn’t feel any less bad.  
They flew all night, crossing a fair amount of water until they saw land. The sun was rising and Toothless dove for a cave high in the sea wall, only in terrible storms would the waves reach it. He heated a small patch of rock and curled up into a ball before opening a wing for Hiccup. Hiccup snuggled in close to his brother, moving so that his wings were closest to the very warm rock. The warmth radiating through the scale were pure bliss and both instantly fell asleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Hiccup walked over to his father who sat staring at the fire, eyes bank. He always did this around this time of year, Gobber said it was because his mother was taken around this time. Hiccup didn’t really know what to think. He never knew his mother so he really didn’t know how to feel sad about her being gone, his three year old not really knowing how to process it. It made him sad to see his father sad but to Hiccup his mother was just a face among many they had lost, many he didn’t know.  
He walked up to his father, trying to figure out how to cheer him up. How does Gobber always cheer me up when I’m sad? He thought about trying to tickle his father but he too small to even try so he tried something else. He stood in front of him and gently pulled on his pant leg, “Play with me daddy!”  
Stoic didn’t even look at him, “Not right now Hiccup.”  
“Please?”   
Stoic shook his head, “Not right now.”  
Hiccup looked down and walked a few steps away. Well that didn’t work. He frowned in thought, looking around until his gaze landed on his father’s axe. He looked at it. Most kids his age had wooden replicas of their parent’s favorite weapons—usually a family weapon—but he didn’t. He had never really minded it, he was just as happy drawing or helping Gothi—who his father left him with often when he had chiefing to do.  
Maybe daddy will show me how to use it! Hiccup thought, thinking of how he remembered his father saying he was slightly disappointed that Hiccup hadn’t shown as much interest in weapons as many other children had. He ran over to the axe and grabbed its handle, the axe being larger and no doubt heavier than he was, and pulled. The axe, which had been resting on its points, fell to the ground so Hiccup could pull it.  
Stoic heard the crash and turned, “Hiccup?”  
Standing he saw Hiccup holding his axe, trying to pull it but failing miserably. “Hiccup, what are you doing?”  
Hiccup turned to him, young innocent eyes shining brightly, “Play with me daddy!”  
Stoic couldn’t help the smile that stretched across his features, “I’m afraid that axe is a wee big for you.”  
Hiccup pouted, “Then play something else!”  
Stoic laughed.

Hiccup awoke to the day with Toothless prodding his shoulder and side, his father’s laughter still ringing in his ears. The sun was already high and Toothless was up in an instant and ready to go while Hiccup took his time waking up, actually, fighting Toothless to stay asleep. “Come on Hiccup!” Toothless pestered.  
“Goway.” Hiccup slurred.  
He closed his eyes, trying to grasp the fading memory…his father, his father’s laugh. It was all fading, he hadn’t heard it in years…he wanted it back. He wanted his father’s warm and secure embrace that he hadn’t felt since he was a young child, something Obsidian had tried to give—and could in his own right—but it just wasn’t the same. He clenched his eyes shut, trying to remember, trying to hold the memory.  
Toothless noticed his brother’s behavior and slowly nudged him again, “Are you ok Hiccup?”  
The memory faded and Hiccup sighed, nodding his head and standing up and said, “I’m fine.” Though his voice sounded strained and tired, his eyes too were droopy.  
Toothless cooed, “Come on, let’s get you into the sun, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah.”  
That day Hiccup was unusually quiet, the memory haunting him. Toothless said nothing as they flew. They landed at the outskirts of a village and Hiccup dismounted his brother. “I want to check your wing before you go.” Toothless insisted.  
Hiccup brought his wing to bear and Toothless sniffed it and gave it a small lick before nodded, “I think it’s fine.”  
Hiccup nodded and walked off towards the village, folding his wings away. It was on the smaller side, like a farming community, but still was fairly sized. Hiccup wandered a bit, trying to get information but they spoke a language he didn’t know. He tried all the ones he knew but they didn’t even know Latin, which was getting frustrating. Toothless and I might just be doing a quick fly over this place if I can’t understand them. He thought.

Toothless had found a nice secluded place to wait for Hiccup and curled into a ball. Hiccup could be a while and a nap sounded nice. It was some time later when something cracking made his ears perk up. His head was up instantly and turned to the disturbance. At the edge of his hiding spot stood a human, stock still in shock. Toothless looked behind him and saw three more. Oh Thor.  
He snapped his wings open and quickly left. “Hiccup, trip cut short.” He muttered as he flew for the village.  
He didn’t know what they wanted, if they were looking for him and Hiccup or if they had stumbled into him accidentally but he wasn’t about to chance Hiccup’s life. At this point he didn’t care if he was seen, all he cared about was Hiccup and his safety.

Hiccup had wandered through the village and was surprised at the sheer amount of dragon items were here. It was baffling to Hiccup. He was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Toothless’ warning shriek, something that he usually only did when diving or preparing a plasma blast. Everyone else heard it and jumped, fearfully looking around.  
“Toothless, what are you doing?” Hiccup asked himself.  
Before he could think of anything else, a back streak came over the village and quickly snatched Hiccup and shot away. The villagers watched in shock as everything happened, still trying to understand what had just happened.  
Hiccup hung in Toothless’ paws, confused. Trying to twist but failing Hiccup decided to just yelled, “What the heck was that about?!”  
Toothless snorted but said nothing as he dropped Hiccup and repositioned himself under him. Hiccup fell silently onto his back, clipping in, before he shot away even faster. Once they had put a sufficient amount of distance between them and the village did Toothless speak. “They saw me.”  
“Uh, no duh. You just kinda came in there and kidnapped me.” Hiccup said sarcastically.  
“No, before that. A group of humans saw me. I didn’t know what they wanted and I didn’t want to risk you.”  
Hiccup rolled his shoulders, “So you decided that yanking me upwards by my shoulders was the best alternative?”  
Toothless snorted again but said nothing.  
Hiccup leaned down and rubbed the top of the dragon’s head, “Hey bud, it’s alright, I’m not blaming you. It just startled me was all.”  
Toothless purred under his hand, “Sorry Hiccup.”  
Hiccup laughed, “Well, now that were up here, what do you say to a bit of fooling around?”  
Toothless grinned and Hiccup fell off the saddle, falling towards the ground and wings still wrapped up in the vest. Toothless followed and twirled him a bit, smiling gummily. Hiccup laughed as they saw the ground come nearer and Toothless pulled under Hiccup and he quickly latched in and was flattened against Toothless as he straightened out and pulled up to avoid the ground.  
Hiccup unclipped his vest and spread his wings, flapping in time with Toothless and shot forward. Hiccup howled with excitement as Toothless shriek and fired a plasma blast, the ripple of which sent them rocketing up into the high clouds before leveling out. Hiccup detached himself and glided next to Toothless, smiling.

Hiccup reclined on Toothless in a cave high on a mountain, Hiccup had learned that the mountain was called Fuji. They had spent a few days on the large island and were having a heck of a time trying to find food without being spotted. For being an island so large—or at least large to Hiccup who was used to Berk being a large island, so this island was huge—news got around like a wildfire. Or at least that’s what Hiccup assumed with the language barrier and all. Every time he had tried to go near a village the people shouted and pointed at him, and he couldn’t tell what they meant with so many feelings bombarding him and their faces in so many emotions he decided not to chance it.  
He and Toothless decided that it would just be best to avoid them and leave. However they had a rather large body of water to cross, not even Toothless could see its end. So that meant that it would be best if Hiccup helped fly with Toothless so they could cross faster and hopefully find an island along the way to rest. So that meant that they needed to rest for about a day to recuperate and get their full strength back.  
Hiccup turned and began scratching Toothless, first getting his belly before working up to around his ears. Toothless rolled over and purred contently. This continued for several minutes until Hiccup stopped with a grin. Toothless pouted and nudged him. “More!”  
“You don’t need any more overgrown cat.”  
Toothless smirked and grabbed Hiccup, pinning him against himself and wrapping his wings around him.  
Hiccup yelped at the sudden action and squirmed, “Hey! Toothless, let go!”  
“No. You stopped scratching and called me a cat so I’m pinning you. You’re not going to move until I say so.”  
“Toothless!” Hiccup protested but his voice was muffled by the dragon’s body, “Come on bud!”  
Toothless stuck his head into Hiccup’s prison and started licking his hair and face, “Ugh! Toothless! That doesn’t wash out, no—gross!”  
He tried to move his arms to stop Toothless but he had been pinned with them at his side and Toothless wasn’t relenting. He kept moving his head, trying to get away but it was futile. A minute later Toothless seemed satisfied with the dripping head and released Hiccup who coughed and sputtered as he wiped away the saliva.  
“A-eh…” He shivered in disgust as he started quickly removing his armor and leather pieces and then his shirt so he only had his pants on. He turned and growled at his brother. “Toothless, that is just gross. And I don’t want my clothes smelling like that forever.” He turned to sack, “There’s got to be a towel or something in here…I suppose I could use my shirt and put on the spare and wash it…that’ll take forever to get the saliva out though. Why does he do that?”  
As he mumbled to himself he failed to notice Toothless creeping up behind him until he pounced. “Got you!”  
“Ah!” Hiccup yelled, “No, please! Don’t!”  
“You need a bath.”  
Toothless then gave him a very wet bath, every time Hiccup thought he escaped Toothless would just grab him and hold him down. Within ten minutes every inch of him was covered in foul smelling saliva. Hiccup gave Toothless a look of death as he stood—arms out away from his body—and dripping. “I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You!”  
Toothless wagged playfully and bounded out, “Only if you can catch me!”  
Hiccup ran after him enraged and shrieked in a dragonic roar, “TOOTHLESS!!! Get back here so I can send you to Valhalla!”  
Lightened without his armor, Hiccup sped towards Toothless who simply grinned and shot upwards, Hiccup following. The chase continued for another several minutes, Toothless diving down, following the mountain. As he neared the ground however he swerved suddenly, as if missing something.  
Hiccup, however, was too enraged at the moment to see his brother’s erratic flight pattern and landed just in front of him in a glade. Hiccup stalked towards him. “Look, I can take one or two licks, even that’s gross enough, but this is just—Toothless don’t ever do this again!”  
“Hiccup?” Toothless said, cutting him off.  
“No, Toothless, you don’t understand. This stuff doesn’t dry! And it’s gross, it smells, and I’m really going to need a bath now and it’s going to take forever to get off and, ugh! Why would you do that?!”  
“Hiccup!”  
“WHAT?!”  
“Look behind you.”  
Hiccup turned to see a large dragon looking at him and Toothless curiously. “Oh…hello?”  
The dragon was white with golden highlights, it looked a lot like the dragons Hiccup had seen adorning many of the villages he had passed and the one he’d been in. The dragon’s eyes looked old while the rest of him looked like a dragon at its peak. Hiccup stood stock still as the dragon leaned down and sniffed Hiccup before standing straight, “By the, you are a Fyrest’s child.”  
Hiccup nodded slowly, “Yeah, sorry if we disturbed you.”  
The dragon looked between him and Toothless again before speaking, “It is quite alright young one. You two must be the ones that has the island in a buzz.”  
Hiccup flushed, “Yeah, they stumbled into Toothless…”  
The dragon laughed as if he found it humorous and Toothless scowled, “And just what is so funny?”  
“Toothless, be nice to giant dragon!” Hiccup hissed.  
“Thank you young one.” He said, a hard look in his eyes, directed towards Toothless, “I mealy find it funny that you are hiding from them.”  
“Why wouldn’t we?” Hiccup asked.  
“You have no reason to.”  
“Care to elaborate?”  
“Hide, from the Japanese? You must be from far away from here. It would be an immediate disgrace to even harm one which has not harmed them, a disgrace which would carry throughout the generations. No, for them to have even seen a dragon brings honor.”  
Hiccup mumbled, “Why can it be like that in the Archipelago?”  
The dragon leaned its head down to eye level with Hiccup, “Which archipelago might you be from young one?”  
“The Barbaric. I’m Hiccup by the way.”  
Toothless walked over, “Sorry, we’ve just learned to be careful with new people.”  
The dragon nodded, “Understandable Toothless. I am Nise gen.”  
Hiccup smiled but looked curious, “What kind of dragon are you. I haven’t seen anything like you in the Archipelago. I think an eel would be the closest thing.”  
Nise gen smiled toothily, “I am a Serpent Wing.”  
Toothless sniffed the air around him and said, “Aren’t you a bit far from the water?”  
“Ah, a perceptive youngling. No, my natural habitat are the snowcapped mountains but I travel to the sea depth commonly also.” He turned to Hiccup, “Now what were you yelling at Toothless about?”  
Toothless’ ears flattened and he whined, “Did you have to bring that back up? I almost got out of it!”  
Hiccup glared at Toothless, “Someone, decided to completely cover me in disgusting, foul-smelling, dragon spit.”  
Nise gen laughed while Hiccup’s glare hardened and Toothless slunk away from his brother a bit, “I go this way now…”  
“You better run.” Hiccup hissed and flared his wings angrily, more saliva being flung off.  
Toothless ran and hid under Nise gen’s wing. He smiled, “Are you planning on staying here?”  
Toothless shook his head, “No, we’ll be heading back in the direction of the Archipelago soon.”  
Nise gen tilted his head curiously, “Are you not worried that the Vikings there will find you?”  
Hiccup shook his head, “Nah, we’re outside the Archipelago. That’ll be the day when they leave it. No, we do have trouble with Dragon Hunters but that’s a different story.”  
Nise gen nodded and looked up at the quickly falling sun. “I best be going, the fish are good at this time.”  
Hiccup smiled, “It was nice meet you Nise gen, and to see another dragon.”  
“Likewise Hiccup, Toothless.” Nise gen suddenly spread well-hidden wings that had blended into his body and took to the sky, heading for the ocean.  
“Well…I’m just going to go and, find some fish for us…see you Hiccup!”  
Toothless left hurriedly for a large river where they had found several fish and Hiccup shook his head. And headed for a smaller stream to try and wash off.  
It was nightfall before Hiccup made it back to the cave, feeling much cleaner. Toothless looked at him happily before blasting a few sticks. Hiccup smiled, “Thanks bud.”  
Toothless cooed and placed his head in Hiccup’s lap as he cooked the fish, Toothless having already ate his. Hiccup stood and put on his spare pants while laying the wet ones aside to dry, then put on the rest of his armor and heading for the cave mouth—sitting at its edge. Toothless stood and walked over.  
Hiccup didn’t acknowledge his presence, twirling and tapping the charcoal stick.  
Toothless huffed, “What’s wrong Hiccup?”  
“I’m just curious, about that power.”  
“Oh Thor not that again.” Toothless grumbled.  
“Yes, that again. It’s just, normal people have created something like a dragon’s fire…”  
“You’re point?” Toothless, rolling his eyes—though Hiccup could hear the uncertainty in his voice.  
“What is they use it against you guys, dragons?”  
Toothless bumped Hiccup lightly, “You heard what Nise gen said, the people in these parts respect dragons big time, as it should be.”  
Hiccup hung his head, “Yeah, but, what if others get ahold of it. People like the Dragon Hunters or Slayers?”  
Toothless breathed deeply, “I’m not sure Hiccup, but I don’t really know what we could do. But considering that this powder has been around for a little while at least, and the Chinese are the only ones who have it, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. They can obviously keep it safe from others.”  
“But still, something like that could bring Berk to its knees—er—Dragons Edge.”  
Toothless looked at Hiccup curiously, “You still worry about your home.”  
“It isn’t my home.” Hiccup said with a scowl.  
Toothless studied him for a second before resting his head on his paws, “I think it is.”  
Hiccup whirled to Toothless and asked with a hiss, “Why do you keep saying that?! They hated me! If they ever found out what I really was they…they would probably kill me as some kind of monster.”  
Toothless whacked Hiccup on the head with his tail, hard. “They didn’t hate you Hiccup, see you as a nuisance sure but they didn’t hate you.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Your father never hated you Hiccup. I would bet everything that he was heartbroken when you left, he stills misses you.”  
“You don’t know that.” Hiccup argued.  
Toothless shot right back. “Yes, I do. Don’t you remember your father’s face after you returned from being kidnapped by the Outcasts? He was relieved, the pain left his face.”  
Hiccup didn’t say anything but stared at the ground, refusing to listen to any of it.  
Toothless rolled his eyes, “There it is, the Haddock stubbornness.”  
“Viking stubbornness.” Hiccup corrected.  
“There’s Viking stubbornness, and there’s Haddock stubbornness. This, is Haddock stubbornness.”  
Hiccup turned and flapped his wings irritably, walking to the back of the cave. “Look, I just want to go back to where we saw them using the powder, just to get an estimate of what it can do. Since when we saw them during the night we couldn’t really see anything and we were both too frightened to focus on anything except safety.”  
Toothless sighed, “Fine, but only one day. I don’t like that stuff, stings worse than a Speed Stinger.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Thanks bud.”

They landed deep within the forest the next day. They had found the military operation at the base of one of the larger hills. They stayed in the woods until sundown when they crept out to the edge of the clearing. Hiccup looked around and ducked quickly as a sentry passed by. They waited until he was out of sight before hurrying forward and to a large stack of bazar weapons. Toothless sniffed them and snorted distastefully. “They all smell like the exploding powder.”  
Hiccup picked up a shaft that, for all intents and purposes, looked like an arrow—the only difference was there was no fletching. Instead at the end they had a small sheet of paper with a string coming out, “What the…”  
Hiccup tore the paper slightly and the powder came drizzling out. Hiccup put his hand under the falling powder and caught it before setting down the ‘arrow’. He played with the powder for a moment, leaving his hands black. He let the powder fall to the ground and wiped his hands against his pants. “I wonder what they’re doing with all this.”  
“You are too curious for your own good. One of these days it going to get you into serious trouble if not killed.” Toothless huffed.  
Hiccup laughed quietly, “It hasn’t already?”  
Toothless rolled his eyes, “Why was I stuck with you and not another Halfling who actually has some common sense?”  
“You’re no better.” Hiccup retorted.  
“That’s what I mean, it’s dangerous.”  
Hiccup shrugged, having moved on to a long, cylindrical tube. He looked inside, “I wonder what they do with this…I don’t see anything to propel anything…what do they put in here? Ballista bolts, nets?”  
Toothless’ ears perked and twitched, someone was coming, “Ok, Hiccup, time to go.”  
“Just a minute, I wanna-”  
Toothless grabbed Hiccup by his vest collar, “No, now.”  
They made it to the bushes just as another sentry passed by. “Ok, their gone.”  
“Oh for the love of the White King, Hiccup! You idiot! We saw what they were doing you don’t need to go back!”  
“We only saw a tiny bit, and I still don’t know what it’s for!” Hiccup said excitedly, “I want know Toothless. Haven’t you ever had an itch you couldn’t scratch?”  
Toothless glared at him flatly, “All the time, why do you think I like it so much when you scratch me?”  
“Well now you know how I feel right now.”  
Toothless grabbed Hiccup by the collar again, “And I have to ignore the itch half the time.”  
Hiccup freed himself, “I’m not ignoring this Toothless. You can either stay here or follow me. Your choice.”  
Smoke rose from his nostrils as he walked out with Hiccup, muttering the whole time. Hiccup walked over to a barrel of the powder, “Do you think Swiftwind would know what’s in this?”  
Toothless shook his head, “Probably not.”  
Some of the powder got near his nose and he snorted, “And it clogs up the nose badly. Can we go already?”  
“Not yet.”  
“Hiccup, your killing me here!”  
“Deal with it.”  
“I swear if you’re not done in five seconds!”  
“You’ll what?” Hiccup asked as he moved away from the pile and towards the tents.   
“Where are you going!? Get your butt back here this instant Halfling!”  
“They’ve gotta have something more on the powder, it’s probably in one of the tents.”  
If Toothless could have paled he would have. “NO! Just, no. Looking at this stuff here is one thing, snooping through those tents is another entirely! You’ll be caught!”  
Hiccup huffed, “No I won’t, I was trained by the best in this. When has a Night Fury ever been caught?”  
“Bounty Hunters.” He said, voice laced with anger.  
“Ok, at night?”  
“The witch.”  
“A normal person!?”  
“Tedmund.”  
“You know what, I give up!”  
“Good! You finally see sense.” Hiccup snuck into the camp as he turned around. I hate you Hiccup, I really, really do. Toothless circled the camp, staying hidden but keeping an eye on Hiccup.  
Hiccup snuck into the first unoccupied tent. It appeared to be a storehouse for food and ammunitions, he found more of the powder but not much else. Back outside he hid in the shadows as yet another patrol passed, this one containing three men. After several minutes of finding nothing he began to get frustrated but stayed with it. Eventually he came to a larger tent and heard voices inside. Early on he had deemed this tent to be a commander’s. Sighing to himself he resolved to wait until the men left. Fifteen minutes later they did, though Hiccup couldn’t understand a word they said.  
He slipped in through the back, under the tent, and began looking around. Several papers laid spread out on a desk. “Well this is useless…I can’t understand a thing.”  
Sifting through the papers he finally found one that had an illustration of the arrows along with, what looked like, the powder. Thinking quickly he grabbed his journal and charcoal and began copying it down as quickly as possible. It looked like he might be making a trip back to Alexandria some time to see if he could find a way to decipher this, not that he’d mind it. Maybe Johan would have a book or two on this language.  
Hiccup jumped when he heard voices outside, and they were coming closer. He quickly scribbled down the last of the notes and ran for the back of the tent, only to see the front opening. Breath in his throat he jumped behind a stand of polished—as polished as armor of that make could be—armor. He drew his knees up into a ball as he heard the man grunt something and papers sift. Hiccup peeked over his shoulder and between a small gap in the armor to see him push the papers together in a neat stack.  
Instantly Hiccup turned his head back around, Oh Thor why did I do this? Hiccup remained like that for another thirty agonizing minutes until the man went to bed then he stayed there another ten until his was snoring deeply. Slowly stretching out he crawled back under the tent and met up with Toothless who looked ticked.  
“Get on my back, we are leaving. That was reckless, stupid and if you ever do that again-”  
Hiccup smiled sheepishly, “I think I got what the powder is.”  
“You almost gave me a heart attack! When he went the tent that you hadn’t some out of yet I nearly keeled over!”  
“Sorry,” Hiccup tried.  
“Sorry doesn’t cut it. I told you not to go and you went! You are grounded to my side until we get back to the Edge.”  
Hiccup unfolded his wings and took off, shooting ahead of Toothless who quickly caught up, still ticked, “Hiccup! If you don’t stay next to me I will carry you in my paws the rest of the way.”  
Hiccup huffed but repositioned himself next to Toothless with seemed to pacify him for the moment.

They had rested for a day and were now crossing the ocean. The dawn was coming and Toothless was flying, hoping to come across an island or sea stack soon. Hiccup had fallen asleep long ago, having strapped in tightly to prevent falling. He blinked his eyes open as the sun came up. “A-are we at an, island yet?” He asked tiredly and with a yawn.  
“Not yet.”  
Hiccup put his head back on Toothless neck before looking up, “What’s that?”  
Toothless looked in the direction Hiccup point and breathed a sigh of relief, “An island, finally.”  
Toothless landed and was almost simultaneously asleep. Hiccup hugged his brother fondly, “Sleep well bud.”  
Several hours later Toothless woke up and saw a large pile of fish near him. Hiccup walked over and smiled, “Sleep well?”  
Toothless quickly downed the fish happily, “You ready?”  
Hiccup nodded.

They spent four days doing this, most flights weren’t as long as the first but by the beginning of the fifth day Hiccup’s wings were unbelievably sore. “Hey, bud? I gotta land. My wings feel like they’re going to fall off.”  
“Stop flying for a while, we’re on a good wind I can glide for a bit.”  
Hiccup folded his wings in and their speed dropped radically but they still flew at a good pace. Hiccup thought for a while before asking, “Do you think we’re getting close?”  
“Close to what?”  
“The edge of the world.”  
Toothless laughed, “I thought mom and dad pounded that out of you. The world’s round, you Vikings are silly.”  
“Yeah, but,” Hiccup said, “We’ve been flying for a while now and land seems to be getting more and more scarce.”  
“We should be coming up on something soon.” Toothless retorted.  
“Ok.” Hiccup yawned, falling asleep.  
When he woke up again they were on the ground. “Toothless?”  
Said dragon walked over, “Found land.” He smiled, “And it’s more than just an island.”  
“Any idea where we are?”  
“Nope.” Toothless grinned gummily.  
“Well ok. Did you see any villages nearby?”  
Toothless shook his head. “I looked before I landed and couldn’t see anything for a ways.”  
“I wonder where we are.”  
Toothless nudged him, “How’s your wing?”  
Hiccup flapped it a few times, fighting a grimace, “Better.”  
“Liar.”  
“Ok, it’s still sore, but I’ll be fine.” Hiccup argued.  
“Take off your vest.”  
Hiccup did so and Toothless began to lick the area around the base of his wings. “Come on, this place’s a bit too hot and dry for me.”  
Hiccup nodded, “Yeah defiantly.”  
They left the coast and headed inland and north a bit. They glided on the high winds for most of the day, watching as the landscape below them turned from sparse, sticky forest to hot, dry desert. “I officially don’t care for this land.”  
Toothless laughed, “It’s not that bad.”  
“Give me Berk any day.”  
Toothless looked back at Hiccup but said nothing.  
As they flew more they saw outcroppings that weren’t natural, “You see that?”  
Toothless nodded and flew closer. They were almost overhead before they could tell what it was, there was a village carved into the side of a drop off. The people had apparently seen them as the ground was quickly evacuated. “Hm…not to friendly I guess.” Hiccup said somewhat disappointed.  
Toothless laughed as he answered, “Yes, because they probably see dragon all the time, especially Night Furies.”  
Hiccup smiled, “Alright, I see your point.”  
They continued on a northern arc for the next two days. The desert was replaced with forest in certain parts and prairie in others, the air was still dry though. They had begun to go south again once they found a large river.  
It was on their fourth day on this new land that something happened. Toothless was splashing in the river and trying to get Hiccup wet as Hiccup kept trying to shield the fire and his fish, “Come on! I’m trying to eat!”  
“You should have eaten earlier!”  
“I wasn’t hungry earlier!” Hiccup shot back.  
“Not my fault. Come on Hiccup! Have some fun.”  
“I’ll have fun once my stomach’s satisfied.”  
“Spoil sport.” Toothless climbed out of the river and shook himself, making the fire hiss and getting it on Hiccup who quickly shielded his fish again with his wings.  
“Really?”  
Toothless shrugged and curled around Hiccup, placing his head in his lap, eyes big as he looked up at Hiccup—more specifically his fish.  
Hiccup took a bite and swallowed, “Get your own.”  
Toothless continued to look at the fish as Hiccup ate. Finally he was done and Toothless pounced, “Ok, you’re done, now come on. We’ve done nothing but fly for a week now and while I’m not complaining, I want to relax.”  
“That’s relaxing?” Hiccup asked, “You and I have very different ideas of relaxing.”  
“Oh yeah, and stuffing yourself in that forge on Berk is any better?” Toothless teased.  
“Hey! It is quite nice in there, I can forge everything I needed and let my imagination flow.”  
Toothless rolled his eyes, “Whatever.” He walked over to Hiccup then quickly grabbed his note book.  
“HEY, give me that Toothless! Not cool!” Hiccup ran after his brother who was leaping around the prairie like a happy dog.  
“Come get it!” He said, mouth full of book, as he stood on the other side of the camp.  
Hiccup smirked and grabbed his shield and Endeavor. Toothless set down and book and crouched before leaping at Hiccup who evaded expertly. Toothless shot at Hiccup who deflected it with his shield. They circled each other for a minute before Hiccup attacked, feigned a left shot as he went to ‘deliver’ the winning hit when a purple/white plasma blast hit the ground between Hiccup and Toothless and sent him flying back.  
Hiccup landed painfully on his wing and groaned, not moving for a moment. When he sat up a saw, standing in front of a stunned Toothless and growling a Night Fury—and she looked ticked.

Stoic sat at the large table where all other chiefs of the Archipelago also sat. They always gathered once every ten years or whenever a crises had arisen. Today, however, it was the normal every ten years meeting. There had been some talk, mainly between warring tribes but they had been at war for centuries so talking wasn’t going to do much.  
Stoic sighed as he leaned back in his seat. Sometimes these meetings were more annoying than helpful. But tradition was tradition so he dealt with it. He looked up when a hand placed itself on his shoulder. He growled at its owner. “Hello, Alvin.”  
Alvin feigned being hurt. “Is tha’ how ya greet an ol’ friend?”  
“Old in an understatement.”  
Alvin shook his head, “Look, I don’ mean anythin’ here, this is just a place ta talk. I respect tradition. I merely came to say tha’ I’m sorry ta ear about ‘iccup.”  
Stoic glared, “What does it matter to you?”  
“Oh ya’d be surprised Stoic, tha’ runt of a son of yours had some interesting things about him.” Alvin said cautiously.  
Stoic glared into the distance, “We searched every Thor forsaken island in this Archipelago and found not a trace of him. It was my fault, I pushed him away.”  
Alvin nodded, “While I don’ care much about your family matters, have ya heard the latest of this, Night Rider?”  
“The man that rider a Night Fury, yes. Who hasn’t. Some witchery.”  
Alvin laughed, “Yeah, I’m surprised the chiefs haven’t talk’d about it more in this meatin’.”  
“What is there to discuss? He may do something we’d consider treason but he’s not here in the Archipelago, probably’s never even set foot here. And he hasn’t been bothering us so there isn’t much we can do. He’s keeping to his own and as long as he does that I’ll be fine.”  
“But what about the dragons he frees? Surely he’s building an army for something.”  
Stoic looked at Alvin curiously. They hadn’t talked this much since, well that wasn’t important—normally they would barely even make eye contact at these meetings. Granted Alvin didn’t come all that often but still. “What’s your interest in him Alvin?”  
Alvin shrugged, “Merely wondering about the Dragon Trappers ‘e steals those dragons from. They might be able ta help us with our problems as raids seem ta steadily get worse over the years.”  
Stoic growled, “Those Trappers could burn in the pits of Helheim for all I care about.”  
“Still got ‘ard feeling?” Alvin laughed.  
“Is that all Alvin?” Stoic said as politely as he could.  
Alvin clapped Stoic on the back, “I’ll leave ya ta yer sulkin’ Stoic.”  
Stoic watched Alvin leave with a heated glance before sighing and hanging his head, “Hiccup.”  
Alvin walked down to the docks, thoroughly done with the meeting, he had only really gone to talk to Stoic briefly. “Ready ta set sail!” He barked to his men.  
Savage met Alvin as he walked about, “Talk to Stoic about, whatever it was?”  
Alvin nodded and Savage looked curious, completely lost as to why they were there. Alvin turned and asked, “Ya remember ‘iccup?”  
Savage nodded, “Yes, the boy with Night Furies.”  
Alvin grinned, “Seems Stoic don’ know a thing about ‘em.”  
“So? What’s surprising about that? Probably didn’t want to be killed for treason.”  
“Oh tha’s not surprisin’ in the least, Savage. What is interesting is that we get word of ‘iccup runnin’ away and of this Night Rider croppin’ up around the same time.”  
Savage nodded, starting to understand. “A boy who has Night Furies running away is quite a coincidence with the man riding one.”  
“If it’s a coincidence at all.” Alvin grinned.  
Savage laughed, “What would Stoic think?”  
Alvin also laughed, “Tha’s the best part, ‘e don’ know. If we can catch this Night Rider to train our dragons, ‘ed have no idea we’ve got ‘iccup.”

Strong wings beat against the thin air of the mountains. A white and golden dragon landed on a peek of a smaller mountain. Small ears perked at a slight rustle behind him and turned to see an old, haggard woman approaching. “Took you winged demon long enough to return.”  
He hissed and retorted in the human tongue, “Trying to catch them for long enough alone is next to impossible.”  
She rolled her eyes, “Well you’ve returned so I assure you managed to catch them?”  
He nodded.  
“Well spit it out already Nise gen. Who are they, were are they from?”  
He laughed as if it was funny, “They are from the Barbaric Archipelago, and the Halfling’s name is, Hiccup.”  
The witch sputtered, “You’re teasing me?”  
“I am not. It seems he has come a long way from home.”  
“I should have known that runt of Stoic’s was a Halfling when Alvin sent me word of him with Night Furies.”  
“I would have thought so, old woman.”  
She glared at him, “Watch your tongue deceiver before you lose it like you did your freedom.”  
Nise gen growled before nodding, “Of course.”  
“Now get down here so we can leave, you know where he calls home?”  
Nise gen nodded again, “Somewhere just outside the Archipelago.”  
“Good, now get moving.” She snapped.


End file.
